Editing Harbinger (Reef superweapon)

{{about|the Reef superweapon|other uses|Harbinger}}
[[File:Harbingers.png|200px|thumb]]
{{Quote|So the Queen calls, as only she can. [...] Behind the Queen's ship, the Harbingers awaken.}}<ref>'''Bungie (2015/5/19)''', ''[[Destiny]]: [[House of Wolves (expansion)|House of Wolves]] - [[Grimoire]]:[[Grimoire:Enemies|Enemies]]/[[Grimoire:Enemies/Fallen|Fallen]], [[Grimoire:Enemies/Fallen#Ghost Fragment: Fallen 4|Ghost Fragment: Fallen 4]]''</ref>
The '''Harbingers''', or '''Harbinger Minds''', are mysterious entities used as superweapons by the [[Awoken]] of the [[Reef]]. They are described as "''trophies from an ageless war''",<ref name="The Coven">'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''[[Destiny]]: [[The Taken King]] - [[Grimoire]]:[[Grimoire:Allies|Allies]]/[[Grimoire:Allies/The_Queen|The Queen]], [[Grimoire:Allies/The_Queen#The_Coven|The Coven]]''</ref> and are controlled by the [[Techeun]]s and [[Mara Sov]], though it seems that this control may be tenuous.<ref>'''Bungie (2015/5/19)''', ''[[Destiny]]: [[House of Wolves (expansion)|House of Wolves]] - [[Petra Venj]]: [[Petra_Venj#Destiny_3|"Why doesn't she just send in a slew of Harbingers? Have the Witches lost control of them?"]]''</ref><ref name="The Coven"/> Each Techeun has her own Harbinger,<ref name="Summoning">'''Bungie (2018/9/4)''', ''[[Destiny 2]]: [[Forsaken]] - [[Shuro Chi]]: [[Patrol/Dialogue#Meditation Circle|"Generations of techeuns have stood where you stand now, dreaming of a future where they might twin themselves to their own Harbinger."]]''</ref> and bonding with it is a part of their training.<ref>'''Bungie (2018/9/4)''', ''[[Destiny 2]]: [[Forsaken]] - [[Shuro Chi]]: [[Patrol/Dialogue#Bench|"I used to come to this bench and sit with Nascia. She and I entered the coven at the same time. She bonded to her Harbinger before I did - I was so jealous, and I could not say so, because we were taught to feel no jealousy. Not all lessons stick."]]''</ref> As weapons, they had little finesse and had the potential to cause enormous collateral damage; as a result, they could not be deployed near allied forces or civilian populations.<ref name="Weksis">'''Bungie (2015/5/19)''', ''[[Destiny]]: [[House of Wolves (expansion)|House of Wolves]] - [[Grimoire]]:[[Grimoire:Enemies|Enemies]]/[[Grimoire:Enemies/Fallen_Hunted|Fallen Hunted]], [[Grimoire:Enemies/Fallen Hunted#WANTED: Weksis, the Meek|WANTED: Weksis, the Meek]]''</ref> Their use as weapons may be gravitic in nature; during the [[Battle of Saturn]], asteroids and [[Tombship]]s were drawn in after their trails.<ref>'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''[[Destiny]]: [[The Taken King]] - [[The Coming War]]''</ref>

==Overview==
The Harbingers seem to be sentient beings; the Awoken would summon them in the [[Spine of Keres]] to speak, persuade and listen to them, and [[Shuro Chi]] remarks they whispered "strange songs in languages we all felt we should know".<ref>'''Bungie (2018/9/4)''', ''[[Destiny 2]]: [[Forsaken]] - [[Shuro Chi]]: [[Patrol/Dialogue#Summoning Pillar|"This was a summoning ground, once. We called the Harbingers here to speak to them, to persuade them, to listen to their whispering - strange songs in languages we all felt we should know."]]''</ref> Their destruction in the Taken War is referred to by her as "death" and she mentions there is only one Harbinger left, only Mara knowing its location.<ref name="Summoning"/>. They are described as "ageless, unfettered minds, twining through the mist like ribbons on the wind".<ref>'''Bungie (2018/9/4)''', ''[[Destiny 2]]: [[Forsaken]] - [[Shuro Chi]]: [[Patrol/Dialogue#Summoning Pillar|"This was once a place to call the Harbingers. It is a pity that you cannot see them as they were - ageless, unfettered minds, twining through the mist like ribbons on the wind. They were beautiful."]]''</ref> Additionally, the Harbingers are capable of traversing the [[Ley Lines]].<ref name="WATB">'''Bungie (2023/11/28)''', ''[[Destiny 2]]: [[Season of the Wish]] - [[Wishing All the Best]]''</ref>

==History==
===Reef Wars===
The first known use of the Harbingers was when the Queen "awoke" them for the opening salvo of the [[Reef Wars]], destroying [[Ceres]] and half of the [[House of Wolves|Wolf]] fleet stationed there, including their Kell, [[Virixas]].<ref name = "Skolas">'''Bungie (2015/5/19)''', ''[[Destiny]]: [[House of Wolves (expansion)|House of Wolves]] - [[Grimoire]]:[[Grimoire:Enemies|Enemies]]/[[Grimoire:Enemies/Fallen Hunted|Fallen Hunted]], [[Grimoire:Enemies/Fallen Hunted#WANTED: Skolas, Kell of Kells|WANTED: Skolas, Kell of Kells]]''</ref> During the Siege of Pallas the Queen was reluctant to use them, as doing so would have destroyed both the defending Awoken fleet and killed the entirety of its civilian population.<ref name="Weksis"/> Instead, a conjured illusion of their presence broke the siege, scattering the dismayed [[Fallen]].<ref>'''Bungie (2015/5/19)''', ''[[Destiny]]: [[House of Wolves (expansion)|House of Wolves]] - [[Grimoire]]:[[Grimoire:Enemies|Enemies]]/[[Grimoire:Enemies/Fallen Hunted|Fallen Hunted]], [[Grimoire:Enemies/Fallen Hunted#WANTED: Pirsis, Pallas-Bane|WANTED: Pirsis, Pallas-Bane]]''</ref>

===Taken War===
The Harbingers were last deployed against [[Oryx]]'s fleet at the Battle of Saturn. This was in accordance with a plan that "''overcame death and spanned universes''" devised by the Queen, in which all but the eldest Harbinger would be sent against the [[Dreadnaught]] to burrow into its hull and "have children."<ref name = "The Coven"/> On summoning, they devastated many [[Hive Warship]]s and [[Tombship]]s, but apparently failed to harm the Dreadnaught. [[Oryx, the Taken King]] then activated the Dreadnaught's main weapon and destroyed the Awoken fleet. [[Uldren]] believed the Queen and the Coven had overstepped themselves in challenging Oryx's power, as it was "''not bound to anything the Origin Libraries even sought to describe''".<ref>'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''[[Destiny]]: [[The Taken King]] - [[Grimoire]]:[[Grimoire:Allies|Allies]]/[[Grimoire:Allies/The_Queen|The Queen]], [[Grimoire:Allies/The Queen#The_Aftermath|The Aftermath]]''</ref> In truth, the Harbingers had done exactly as the Queen planned and allowed her to enter Oryx's throne world when his weapon killed her.<ref>'''Bungie (2018/9/4)''', ''[[Destiny 2]]: [[Forsaken]] - [[Lore]]:[[Lore:The Awoken of the Reef|The Awoken of the Reef]], [[Lore:The Awoken of the Reef#Tyrannocide V|Tyrannocide V]]''</ref>

Vestiges of the Harbingers lingered around [[Saturn]]'s moons and a sample was collected for [[Petra]]'s use.<ref>'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''[[Destiny]]: [[The Taken King]] - [[Grimoire]]:[[Grimoire:Inventory|Inventory]]/[[Grimoire:Inventory/Special_Weapons|Special Weapons]]: [[Grimoire:Inventory/Special Weapons#Telesto|Telesto]]''</ref>

===Postwar===
After the Taken War, the eldest Harbinger would remain in secret with only Mara knowing where it was located, something Shuro Chi was thankful for given that she and [[Kalli|her]] [[Sedia|sisters]] had been [[Taken]] at the time.<ref>'''Bungie (2018/9/4)''', ''[[Destiny 2]]: [[Forsaken]] - [[Shuro Chi]]: [[Patrol/Dialogue#Summoning Spire|"We used to use that spire to summon the Harbingers. They're all dead now - all but one, and only Queen Mara knows where it is. A good thing, too, considering that me and my sisters were Taken."]]''</ref>

It seems that in the years after, more Harbingers were able to be born as Mara was able to use many of them on the fringes of the system against the [[Black Fleet]].<ref>'''Bungie (2020/11/10)''', ''[[Destiny 2]]: [[Season of the Hunt]] - [[Vanguard Transmissions]]''</ref>

During the [[Hunt for Riven's Clutch]], Mara made use of her personal Harbinger to help with bringing the rest of the Ahamkara's clutch that had been scattered in the Ascendant Plane and were orbiting normal reality. However, Mara needed a [[Starlight Lodestone]] to guide the Harbinger to them. <ref>'''Bungie (2023/11/28)''', ''[[Destiny 2]]: [[Season of the Wish]] - [[Wishing_All_the_Best#Step_11|Wishing All the Best: Step 11]]''</ref> After successfully retrieving it from the [[Chamber of Starlight]] and calibrating it in [[The Coil]], the Guardian placed it atop a tower in the [[Spine of Keres]] after clearing out the Taken.<ref>'''Bungie (2023/11/28)''', ''[[Destiny 2]]: [[Season of the Wish]] - [[The Oracle Engine#Wishing You the Best|The Oracle Engine (Wishing You the Best)]]''</ref> Petra remarked how nice to was to see a Harbinger being used for diplomacy instead of war.<ref>'''Bungie (2023/11/28)''', ''[[Destiny 2]]: [[Season of the Wish]] - [[Wishing_All_the_Best#Step_19|Wishing All the Best: Step 19]]''</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Harbingers forming.png|A shot of the Harbinger energy in the viewport
File:Harbingers forming 2.png|The [[Harbingers]] forming before the Queen's Ketch
File:Seven Harbingers.png|Harbingers attack
</gallery>

==List of appearances==
*''[[Destiny]]: [[House of Wolves (expansion)|House of Wolves]]'' {{Fm}}
**''[[The Taken King]]'' {{1st}}
*''[[Destiny 2]]: [[Warmind (expansion)|Warmind]]'' {{Mo}}
**''[[Forsaken]]'' {{Mo}}
**''[[Season of the Hunt]]'' {{Mo}}
**''[[Season of the Lost]]'' {{Mo}}
**''[[Season of Plunder]]'' {{Mo}}
**''[[Season of the Wish]]'' {{Mo}}
**''[[Episode: Revenant]]'' {{Mo}}

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Awoken]]
[[Category:Military technology]]