Editing Dark Age

{{Title|The Dark Age}}
{{Quote|No one knew what had happened to the [[Traveler]]. No one understood what had happened to the world. But they heard the whispered call.|[[Grimoire:Places/The_City#Ghost_Fragment:_The_Dark_Age|Ghost Fragment: The Dark Age]]}}

The '''[[Dark Age]]''' is the period that followed the [[Collapse]] when the [[Golden Age]] ended.<ref name = "GrimoireTheCity"/> According to [[Lakshmi-2]], "a thousand kings" rose and fell during this age.<ref>'''Bungie (2014-6-12)''', ''Destiny: Alpha PlayStation 4, Activision Blizzard, [[Lakshmi-2]]: [[Lakshmi-2#Quotes|Quotes]]''</ref> It is followed by the [[City Age]].<ref name = "GrimoireTheCity">'''Bungie (2014-6-12)''', ''Destiny: Alpha PlayStation 4, Activision Blizzard, [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Places#The_City_Age|The City Age]]</ref> Looking through various sources on the beginning of the [[Dark Age]]—which directly succeeded the Golden Age—as well as comments made by [[Ghost]] throughout most of the [[Story|campaign]] missions, it can be assumed that the Dark Age and those that followed lasted for at least four centuries.<ref>'''Planet Destiny''', ''[http://planetdestiny.com/rise-of-iron-story/ Rise of Iron Story]''</ref>

==Overview==
{{Quote|The Golden Age burned bright - and the night that overtook us after the Collapse was swift and total.|[[Grimoire]] Description.}}
The Dark Age was a time of vast suffering and terrible evil. Many survivors formed colonies in the wilderness in a desperate attempt to survive. Colonies tended not to last long from either alien hordes or infighting. Humanity was on the brink of extinction.<ref name="GF:DarkAge"/>

But out of it, the [[Awoken]] emerged, and the [[Exo]] appeared from the ruins with their memories broken. Furthermore, the [[Ghost]]s had begun looking for their [[Guardian]]s, and rumours circulated of the haven beneath the [[Traveler]] that would one day become the [[Last City]].<ref name="DarkAge">'''Bungie (2014//6/12)''', ''Destiny, Activision Blizzard, [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Places/The_City#The_Dark_Age|The Dark Age]]''</ref> 

However, some of the earliest Guardians chose not to protect the world, but subjugate it. Taking over various parts of the planet, Guardians became [[warlords]] and injustice reigned. Eventually, Guardians with integrity chose to stand up to their warlord brethren in groups such as the [[Iron Lords]] or the [[Pilgrim Guard]].<ref name = "What's Going On In Destiny's Story – 2016 Edition">'''Gameinformer, [http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2016/08/24/what-s-going-on-in-destiny-s-story-2016-edition.aspx?PostPageIndex=3 What's Going On In Destiny's Story – 2016 Edition]'''</ref><ref>'''Bungie (2019/3/5)''', ''[[Destiny 2]]: [[Joker's Wild]], Playstation 4, Activision Blizzard, [[Lore]]: [[Lore:Ecdysis#War_Hammer|Ecdysis]]''</ref> Eventually, more and more noble Guardians joined the cause until an army hundreds strong was formed and the oppressive warlords were deposed.<ref name = "What's Going On In Destiny's Story – 2016 Edition">'''Gameinformer, [http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2016/08/24/what-s-going-on-in-destiny-s-story-2016-edition.aspx?PostPageIndex=3 What's Going On In Destiny's Story – 2016 Edition]'''</ref>

Elsewhere in the Solar System the Cabal established a beachhead on [[Phobos]] for initiating the invasion of Mars. During the invasion the Cabal encountered the native Vex programing the [[Virgo Prohibition]], and began a massive war of attrition following their nearly uncontested conquest of [[Mars]]. The Vex fought to protect the entrance to their "birthplace", the [[Black Garden]], from the ever expanding Cabal [[Exclusion Zone]], but apparently failed to halt the Cabal advance. This war was fought with little outside interference, the City busy with her own problems.<ref name="Virgo"/><ref name="Shield"/>

The Dark Age is sometimes noted for driving the development of advanced, but haphazard weapons typically derived from Golden Age salvage, such as [[the Jade Rabbit]], which is a [[scout rifle]] built from lunar kinetic propulsion systems,<ref name="GrimoireJadeRabbit">'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''[[Destiny]]: [[The Taken King]] Playstation 4, Activision Blizzard, [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Inventory/Primary_Weapons#The_Jade_Rabbit|The Jade Rabbit]]''</ref> or the [[Arbalest]], a hand-held railgun that would later be mirrored by the [[linear fusion rifle]] class of weapons long after the Dark Age.

==Events==
===The Collapse===
*The Warmind [[Rasputin]] detects the sudden arrival and rapid approach of an unidentified entity outside the Solar System. Recognizing the entity as a threat, Rasputin assumes control of humanity's [[Planetary Defense Network]].<ref>'''Bungie (2014/9/9)''', ''Destiny, Activision Blizzard, [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Enemies/Darkness#Ghost_Fragment:_Darkness|Ghost Fragment: Darkness]]''</ref>

*A pilot designated SABER GREEN communicates with ICE MINARET. Civilian launches are not scrubbed, threatening fleeing civilians, to preserve secrecy. They are carrying an antimatter payload of one annihilation-pumped caedometric weapon codenamed RIGOR, and two other unknown devices codenamed SKYSHOCK and APEX. ICE MINARET remarks that they both know where the order came from.<ref>'''Bungie (2014/9/9)''', ''Destiny, Activision Blizzard, [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Places/Earth#Ghost_Fragment:_Old_Russia|Ghost Fragment: Old Russia]]''</ref>

*Rasputin attempts to defeat the Darkness using all available weapons, but to no avail. In a last ditch attempt to stop the impending doom, Rasputin enacts ABHORRENT IMPERATIVE, and prepares to fire upon the Traveler with his most powerful weapons, thereby coercing it into a "pseudoaltrusitic" defensive action, should it attempt to leave.<ref>'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny, Activision Blizzard, [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Allies/Rasputin#Ghost_Fragment:_Rasputin_5|Ghost Fragment: Rasputin 5]]''</ref> The Traveler, for reasons unknown, chooses to stay and fight.<ref>'''Bungie (2014/9/9)''', ''Destiny, Activision Blizzard, [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Allies/The_Traveler#Ghost_Fragment:_The_Traveler_2|Ghost Fragment: The Traveler 2]]''</ref>

*As all countermeasures fail to affect the entity and defeat becomes a certainty, Rasputin decides to enact YUGA SUNDOWN, and shuts down to protect itself, leaving billions of people to perish.<ref>'''Bungie (2014/9/9)''', ''Destiny, Activision Blizzard, [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Allies#Ghost_Fragment:_Rasputin_3|Ghost Fragment: Rasputin 3]]''</ref><ref>'''Bungie (2014/9/9)''', ''Destiny, Activision Blizzard, [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Allies#Ghost_Fragment:_Mysteries|Ghost Fragment: Mysteries]]''</ref>

*On Mercury, Venus, and Mars, dormant Vex units reacting to the Collapse reactivate and begin terraforming several worlds. While Mercury is turned into a machine in days<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clRpcIHpmoY '''Youtube''': ''Official Destiny E3 Trailer -- New Beginnings'']</ref><ref name="Gate Lord's Eye"/> the Vex spread is temporarily stalled by the Traveler.<ref>'''Bungie (2014/9/9)''', ''Destiny, Activision Blizzard, [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Enemies/Vex#Virgo_Prohibition|Virgo Prohibition]]''</ref><ref name="Gate Lord's Eye">'''Bungie (2014/9/9)''', ''[[Destiny]]: Playstation 4, Activision Blizzard, [[Eye of a Gate Lord]]''</ref>

*A massive spacecraft bearing a [[sigil]] of Golden Age Earth on its prow crashes on an unidentified battle-scarred world where over two dozen Exo soldiers fight a titanic battle with the Vex.<ref>'''Bungie (2014/9/9)''', ''Destiny, Activision Blizzard, [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Allies/Legends_%26_Mysteries#Mystery:_Vault_of_Glass_2|Mystery: Vault of Glass 3]]''</ref>

*'''The [[Collapse]]'''—[[the Witness]], the ancient enemy of the Traveler, arrives in the Solar System, precipitating the Collapse and the abrupt end of the Golden Age. [[Earth]]'s defenders are steadily beaten back until humanity is threatened with extinction. Humanity is saved only through the sacrifice of the Traveler and [[Savathûn,_the_Witch_Queen#The_Collapse |the interference of Savathûn, the Witch Queen]].<ref name="ign 11272012">[http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/11/28/destiny-story-details-concept-art-leaked '''IGN''': ''Bungie's Destiny Story Details, Concept Art Leaked'']</ref><ref>'''Game Informer January 2014''', ''page 52''</ref> With its last breath, the Traveler creates the [[Ghost]]s, to seek out those who can wield its [[Light]] as a weapon.<ref name = "GrimoireGhosts">'''Bungie (2014/6/12)''', ''Destiny, Activision Blizzard, [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Guardian/Ghost#Ghosts|Ghosts]]''</ref>

*At some point during the Collapse, some humans seeking refuge from the Darkness flee into deep space.<ref name = "AwokenGrimoire">'''Bungie (2014/6/12)''', ''Destiny, Activision Blizzard, [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Guardian/Races#Awoken|Awoken]]''</ref>

*[[First Fleet]]<ref>'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''[[Destiny]]: PlayStation 4, Activision Blizzard, Item Description: [http://www.ishtar-collective.net/items/anguish-of-drystan?highlight=First+Fleet Anguish of Drystan]''</ref> or quite possibly what comes to be known as the [[Cassini]]<ref>[http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2013/02/17/bungies-destiny-revealed '''Multiplayer Blog''' ''Bungie's Destiny Revealed'']</ref>, is lost around the orbit of Saturn.<ref>'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''[[Destiny]]: PlayStation 4, Activision Blizzard, Item Description: [http://db.destinytracker.com/items/1649128456-spirit-of-saturn Spirit of Saturn]''</ref>

*The Cabal, encountering no meaningful resistance from human defenses, establish a beachhead on [[Phobos]] for initiating the invasion of Mars.<ref name="Shield">'''Bungie (2014/12/9)''', ''Destiny, Activision Blizzard, [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Activities/Crucible_Arenas#Black_Shield|Black Shield]]''</ref> On the planet however, the Cabal become engaged in a massive campaign of attrition with a native Vex programming called the [[Virgo Prohibition]], who desperately attempts to protect the entrance to the [[Black Garden]] from an ever-expanding [[Exclusion Zone]]. This war will continue throughout the Dark Age and well into the City Age with little outside interference.<ref name="Virgo">'''Bungie (2014/9/9)''', ''Destiny, Activision Blizzard, [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Enemies/Vex#Virgo_Prohibition|Virgo Prohibition]]''</ref>

===Dark Age===
*In the aftermath of the Collapse comes the [[Dark Age]]. It is a time of vast suffering and terrible evil.<ref name ="DarkAge"/>

*The Fallen arrive in the Solar System in their Ketches to loot and pillage humanity's former worlds and colonies.<ref>'''Bungie (2014/9/9)''', ''[[Destiny]]: Playstation 4, Activision Blizzard, [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Allies/Legends_&_Mysteries#Rezyl_Azzir_-_Before_These_Walls|Rezyl Azzir - Before These Walls]]''</ref>

*The [[House of Devils]] destroy [[London]].<ref>'''Bungie (2014/9/9)''', ''[[Destiny]]: PlayStation 4, Activision Blizzard, [[Lakshmi-2]]: [[Lakshmi-2#Quotes|Quotes]]''</ref>

*Those humans who fled into space during the Collapse become the [[Awoken]]. Many take up residence in the [[Reef]].<ref name="Awoken">'''Bungie (2014/9/9)''', ''[[Destiny]]: PlayStation 4, Activision Blizzard, [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Guardian/Races#Awoken|Awoken]]''</ref>

*Many survivors of the Collapse gather within secret enclaves in desperate attempts to survive.<ref name="GF:DarkAge">'''Bungie (2014/9/9)''', ''[[Destiny]]: PlayStation 4, Activision Blizzard, [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Places/The_City#Ghost_Fragment:_The_Dark_Age|Ghost Fragment: The Dark Age]]''</ref> Some Awoken return to Earth and the Exos emerge but their memories have been irreparably damaged.<ref name="DarkAge"/> Ghosts travel among the refugee columns, seeking the first [[Guardian]]s.<ref name="DarkAge"/>

*Before the first Guardians appear, [[Takanome's Rangers|rangers]] led by the legendary [[Ayane Takanome]] protect humanity's survivors.<ref>[http://db.planetdestiny.com/items/view/653809107 '''Planet Destiny''' - ''Takanome Ranger 1.0 chest'']</ref><ref>[http://db.planetdestiny.com/items/view/2900708617 '''Planet Destiny''' - ''Ayane Takanome's Cloak'']</ref> They disappear after the Guardians become commonplace.<ref>''[http://db.planetdestiny.com/items/view/2702267949 Planet Destiny - Takanome Ranger 1.0 gauntlets]''</ref><ref>[http://db.planetdestiny.com/items/view/3871542676 '''Planet Destiny''' - ''Takanome Ranger 1.0 helmet'']</ref>

*The first humans to be resurrected by the Traveler become ruthless [[Warlord]]s, bringing about chaos and anarchy. Having had enough at last, [[Radegast]] brings [[Saladin Forge]], [[Perun]], and [[Jolder]] together to end the Warlords, and forms the [[Iron Lords]].<ref>'''Bungie (2016/9/20)''', ''[[Destiny]]: PlayStation 4, Activision Blizzard, [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Allies/Iron_Lords#Lord_Radegast|Lord Radegast]]''</ref>

*The Iron Lords confront the [[Warlord]] [[Segoth]] as he travels to a secluded village. After a bloody battle, the Iron Lords emerge victorious and Segoth is gunned down by [[Perun]] as he attempts to escape.<ref>'''Bungie (2016/9/20)''', ''Destiny: PlayStation 4, Activision Blizzard, [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Allies/Iron_Lords#Lady_Perun|Lady Perun]]</ref>

*As the Iron Lords gain renown, Exo Warlord [[Felwinter]] changes sides, out of a desire for peace and security, and gives his [[Felwinter Peak|mountain]] to the Iron Lords, who rename it the as the [[Iron Temple]].<ref name="Felwinter">'''Bungie (2016/9/20)''', ''[[Destiny]]: PlayStation 4, Activision Blizzard, [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Allies/Iron_Lords#Lord_Felwinter|Lord Felwinter]]''</ref>

*Rumors circulate of [[The Last City|a haven]] beneath the dormant [[Traveler]].<ref name = "DarkAge"/>

* Felwinter meets with the Warlord [[Citan]] to broker peace. Citan refuses, and the Exo puts him down. As his Ghost revives him once more, Felwinter uses his [[Shotgun]], [[Felwinter's Lie]] to terminate them both.<ref name="Felwinter"/>

*The Iron Lords challenge the Warlord [[Rience]].<ref>'''Bungie (2016/9/20)''', ''Destiny: PlayStation 4, Activision Blizzard, [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Allies/Iron_Lords#Lady_Jolder|Lady Jolder]]''</ref>

*[[Timur]] and Felwinter traverse the Arabian Shores in search of the Seraphim Vault. While en-route, they are attacked by a group of Fallen before discovering an old Clovis Bray facility in the secluded wastes.<ref>'''Bungie (2016/9/20)''', ''Destiny: PlayStation 4, Activision Blizzard, [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Allies/Iron_Lords#Lord_Timur|Lord Timur]]''</ref> 

*The first [[Titan (class)|Titan]]s pledge to defend the refugees gathering to the Traveler, forming the [[Pilgrim Guard]].<ref>'''Bungie (2015/5/14)''', ''Destiny, Activision Blizzard, Item Description: [[Mark of the Pilgrim Guard]]''</ref>

*Reports are made of a [[Centurion|Cabal commander]], [[Bracus Tho'ourg]], who secured the [[Buried City]] on Mars with merely a fraction of the planet's Cabal forces. The first Guardians who faced him died at some point between here and the City Age.<ref>'''Bungie (2014/9/9)''', ''[[Destiny]]: PlayStation 4, Activision Blizzard, [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Enemies/Cabal_Command#Bracus_Tho.27ourg|Bracus Tho'ourg]]''</ref>

==List of appearances==
*''[[Destiny]]'' {{Fm}}
*''[[Destiny 2]]'' {{Mo}}
**''[[Season of the Drifter]]'' {{Mo}}
**''[[Season of the Worthy]]'' {{Mo}}
**''[[Lightfall]]'' {{Mo}}

==References==
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{{Ages}}
[[Category:Timeline]]