Haldane Hall

Haldane Hall by 14 A.E.

"I swear I thought the place was a museum when I walked in. I mean, it was huge, full of books and old paintings. And deserted, you know? That kind of dead silence that says just shut your mouth and feel the awe of history. And then Marcus's mom came through the door like she hadn't seen us, reading some papers she had in her hand, and she says, "Hi sweetheart, you brought some friends home? I'll catch up with you later." Then she was gone. I saw the look on Marcus's face, and knew right then that the guy needed a brother a whole lot more than he needed a library."

—Carlos Santiago, describing his first visit to Marcus Fenix's house

Haldane Hall, more commonly known as the Fenix's Estate, was the former home of the Fenix Family, an influential family in Tyrus. It was located within the confines of the East Barricade Academy. The former residence of Adam Fenix and Elain Fenix, the parents of Marcus Fenix, Haldane Hall has several distinguishing characteristics. Firstly, the house is located atop a large hill and also has a basement. In this basement, hidden behind a moving wine rack, was Adam Fenix's laboratory. Within the laboratory was a massive collection of data concerning the Locust tunnel network and structure. Thus, the Estate was one of the primary destinations for Delta Squad on their campaign to arm and deploy the Lightmass Bomb during the Lightmass Offensive.

Like most of Ephyra, the building is accessible by the Locust via their Emergence Holes. Interestingly, the house had an old APC at its back entrance, suggesting that the estate may have been used for some kind of military operations before Delta Squad arrived.

Haldane Hall also had extensive grounds, housing a variety of outbuildings and garden features. The sheer size and grandeur of this Estate indicates that Adam Fenix must have been a very wealthy man to afford such a large residence. The Fenix's estate was located on Allfathers Avenue.

History

Pre-Emergence Day

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Battle of Ephyra

Ten years after Emergence Day, Marcus Fenix abandoned his post and returned home to evacuate his father Adam Fenix from the estate during the Battle of Ephyra, bringing Dominic Santiago with him. Marcus failed to evacuate his father, however, and was forced to retreat, presuming Adam dead after a crashing King Raven brought down part of the house on Adam, apparently crushing him to death. However, Adam secretly survived and was taken to the island of Azura to continue his research into curing Imulsion.

Marcus Returns Home

More than four years later, after learning of Adam Fenix's maps in his secret lab from a geobot, Delta Squad, led by Marcus Fenix, returned to the abandoned Haldane Hall to retrieve the maps and complete the Lightmass Offensive. Hearing their plans over a captured soldier's radio, the Locust moved to secure the estate in force, committing a substantial amount of troops at East Barricade Academy in an attempt to stop the COG forces from reaching the house. Failing that, the Locust were forced to invade the house itself through Emergence Holes and try to barricade it from the inside. Delta Squad managed to make it in, and while Baird and Cole repaired an old APC behind the house for use as a method of escape, Dom and Marcus made their way into the basement to Fenix's secret lab. There, they found the maps they needed, but are shocked to realize that the Hollow is much bigger than anyone ever imagined. They are then forced to hold the house against further Locust attack while JACK downloaded the data. Delta Squad managed to hold the house long enough to secure the data, then made their escape, abandoning it once again.

Postwar

Following the end of the Locust War, Marcus seemingly left the Fenix Estate abandoned and had married Anya Stroud and moved in with her at the Stroud Estate where they had raised their son James Dominic Fenix.

Sections

The Courtyard

Haldane Hall occupied a large plot of land in terms of building and ground size. Surrounding the house was a vast area of gardens and a large courtyard built upon a bank. Upon exiting the back of the home, one would encounter a small courtyard with a fountain in the center. Surrounding this are many rounded, concrete pots which, as of 14 A.E., contained very overgrown and deceased plant life. The courtyard then opened to a set of steps leading down to a central pond with a statue of a COG general at its center. There were also a few statues of the COG emblem scattered around the courtyard.

Secret Lab

Beneath the house is Adam Fenix's secret lab. It is located in the basement behind a loose wine rack. In the lab are computers containing all of Adam Fenix's data and research including a map of the Locust tunnels that Adam somehow made.

Behind the scenes

• The multiplayer map Escalation uses the courtyard as the basis for a battleground in both Gears of War and Gears of War 3.

Appearances

• A Pendulum Wars Story
• The Slab
• Gears of War (First appearance)
• Gears of War: Ultimate Edition
• Aspho Fields (Appears in flashback(s))
• Jacinto's Remnant (Appears in flashback(s))
• Anvil Gate (Appears in flashback(s))
• Gears of War 3 (Appears in flashback(s))