Editing Hive

The '''Hive''', originally known as the '''Krill''',<ref name="KrillHive1">'''Bungie (2022/3/5)''', ''[[Destiny 2]]: [[The Witch Queen]] - [[Rhulk, Disciple of the Witness|Rhulk]]: [[Preservation#Transcript|"Puppets, All of Them. Every Last Krill. Every Last Hive"]]''</ref><ref name="KrillHive2">'''Bungie (2022/2/22)''', ''Destiny 2: The Witch Queen - [[Lore]]:[[Lore:Lucent Tales|Lucent Tales]]: [[Lore:Lucent Tales#Krill|Krill]]''</ref> are a macabre, incredibly ancient species of arthropod-like aliens hailing from the world of [[Fundament]], with a vast majority aligning with the [[The Witness|Witness]] and the [[Black Fleet]]. Their culture is based around the [[Sword Logic]]: a supernatural, thanatological philosophy of competitive survivalism, which dictates that they must destroy other civilizations to accrue [[Paracausality|paracausal]] power and feed the [[Worm]]s that live within their bodies. They are led by a pantheon of dark gods who derive power and sustenance from the destruction wrought by the Hive, a system ultimately derived from the Witness' influence.

The Hive are an "impossibly ancient" race born from a pact with the [[Worm|Worm Gods]]. Hive structures delve deep into wherever they lay claim to, unheeding the damage done in the process, crafting linked caverns and gothic-like columns. These underground spaces resemble a dungeon recently pulled up after an extended period underwater.<ref name = "GIJ2014">[http://www.gameinformer.com/games/destiny/b/playstation4/archive/2014/04/04/a-player-39-s-journey.aspx?PostPageIndex=4 '''Game Informer January 2014''', ''page 55'']</ref> The Hive are able to manipulate the physical world in ways humanity can only begin to imagine,<ref>[http://www.destinythegame.com/au/en/game/enemies/hive '''Bungie''': ''Hive'']</ref> and have witnessed the [[Darkness]] consume countless worlds in the past.{{Citation needed}}

{{quote|The Fundament is very large. We are the smallest things in it. If you don't understand something, it will probably kill you. My teacher [[Taox]] says this is why we have such short lives. So we can breed and adapt quickly.|[[Xivu Arath|Xi Ro]]}}<ref name="Predators">'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: [[The Taken King]] - Grimoire:Enemies/[[Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow|Books of Sorrow]], [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow#I: Predators|I: Predators]]''</ref>

Long ago, the Krill crashed their [[Krill homeworld|homeworld]] into [[Fundament]], ostensibly to hide from something unknown. The shards of this homeworld eventually formed several continents that floated upon a sea called the Fundament Ocean within a layer of the gas giant's atmosphere, and the Krill eventually built a meager civilization upon them and forgot their old history. Cohabiting Fundament with the Krill were hundreds of other intelligent species, and a space-faring species called the [[Ammonite]]s inhabited Fundament's fifty-two moons and were watched over by the [[The Traveler|Traveler]].<ref name="Curiosity">'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King - Grimoire:Enemies/[[Grimoire:Enemies/Darkness|Darkness]], [[Grimoire:Enemies/Darkness#Calcified Fragments: Curiosity|Calcified Fragments: Curiosity]]''</ref><ref name="Syzgy">'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King - Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow, [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow#IV: Syzygy|IV: Syzgy]]''</ref><ref>'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King - Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow, [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow#XIV: 52 and One|XIV: 52 and One]]''</ref>

The progenitors of the contemporary Hive were [[Xivu Arath, God of War|Xi Ro]], [[Savathûn, the Witch Queen|Sathona]], and [[Oryx, the Taken King|Aurash]], the three daughters of the [[Osmium King]] who ruled the continent called the Osmium Court.<ref name="Predators"/> When the Osmium King was ten years old, he fell into madness, fearing an event called the Syzygy, wherein Fundament's fifty-two moons would align and create a massive tidal wave, the God-Wave, which would destroy Fundament's civilizations.<ref name="Syzgy"/> [[Taox]], a sterile mother who served as the teacher to the King's daughters, feared the King's daughters were too weak to succeed the King, and invited a rival kingdom, the [[Helium Drinkers]] of the Helium Court, to invade the Osmium Court, kill the royal family, and allow Taox to rule the Osmium Court as their regent.<ref name="Hate">'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King - Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow, [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow#II: The Hateful Verse|II: The Hateful Verse]]''</ref> The Helium Drinkers invaded and slew the Osmium King, but the three sisters, two years old at the time, escaped on a ship and vowed revenge against the Helium King and Taox.<ref name="Oath">'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King - Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow, [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow#III: The Oath|III: The Oath]]''</ref>

After a year of traveling the sea, the sisters salvaged an ancient, high-tech ship they called the "[[Needle]]" from the Shvubi Maelstrom. Xi Ro wanted to sell it at the ''Kaharn Atoll'', a gathering place of Fundament's many species, to raise enough money to hire a mercenary army, but Aurash wanted to take command of the ship. Sathona sided with Aurash, goaded on by a Worm their father had kept. The Worm had washed up on the Osmium Court's shores and was seemingly dead, but Sathona could hear it speak to her.<ref name="Needle Worm">'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King - Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow, [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow#V: Needle and Worm|V: Needle and Worm]]''</ref> Unbeknownst to Sathona, the voice she was hearing was in fact that of the the [[The Witness|Witness]], a paracausal entity who sought to keep the Krill away from the Traveler. In truth, there was no imminent danger from a "god-wave" nor the syzygy that would supposedly cause it.<ref>'''Bungie (2022/3/5)''', ''Destiny 2: The Witch Queen - Item Description: [[Resonant Fury Suit#Resonant Fury Plate|Resonant Fury Plate]]''</ref>

The sisters spent the next two years repairing the ship, after which Aurash decided to use it to fulfil its intended purpose: to dive to Fundament's core in the hopes of learning a secret that would prevent the Syzygy.<ref name="Sisters">'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King - Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow, [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow#VI: Sisters|VI: Sisters]]''</ref>

As they descended, the sisters encountered a vast creature called the [[Leviathan (Fundament)|Leviathan]], a disciple of the Traveler. The Leviathan warned the sisters against proceeding further, telling them that they faced a choice between the Sky and the Deep, the Light and the Darkness, the way of life and the way of death. Still, the sisters rejected the Leviathan, unable to accept that allowing their people to suffer was the better way. Instead, they decided to follow the worm Sathona had saved, which urged them to continue diving.<ref name="Dive">'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King - Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow, [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow#VII: The Dive|VII: The Dive]]''</ref><ref name="Leviathan">'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King - Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow, [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow#VIII: Leviathan|VIII: Leviathan]]''</ref>

{{quote|We want to help you, Princes. We offer to each of you a bargain... a symbiosis.|[[Yul, the Honest Worm]]<ref name="Bargain">'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King - Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow, [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow#IX: The Bargain|IX: The Bargain]]''</ref>}}

The sisters accepted the pact.<ref name="Immortals">'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King - Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow, [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow#X: Immortals|X: Immortals]]''</ref> Xi Ro took the knight morph and became Xivu Arath, the God of War;<ref name="Out Deep">'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King - Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow, [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow#XII: Out of the Deep|XII: Out of the Deep]]''</ref> Sathona took the mother morph and became Savathûn, the Witch Queen;<ref name="Conquer">'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King - Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow, [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow#XI: Conquerors|XI: Conquerors]]''</ref> and Aurash took the king morph and became Auryx, the King of the Hive.<ref name="Immortals"/> Over the following years, the siblings returned to their people and spread the Worms' larvae among them, re-creating the Krill as the Hive, and enabling them to liberate the Osmium Court from the Helium Drinkers, then drive Taox and the other species of Fundament to Kaharn Atoll, and finally to build the spaceships needed to break free of Fundament.<ref name="Out Deep"/><ref name="Conquer"/>  

{{quote|We need champions. Crusaders. Help us save the universe. Help us exterminate that which would destroy all hope. You are oathbound to this task, by the covenant of the worm.|Worm Gods}}<ref name="Crusaders">'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King - Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow, [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow#XIX: Crusaders|XIX: Crusaders]]''</ref>

As the newborn Hive forced an ultimatum on the remaining Krill either to accept the worms or perish, Auryx turned his attention to Fundament's moons and the Ammonites there, who had allied with the Traveler and given asylum to Taox.<ref name="One">'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King - Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow, [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow#XIV: 52 and One|XIV: 52 and One]]''</ref> Initially he was willing to negotiate with the Ammonites. His sister Savathûn, under pressure from the Worms, killed Auryx as punishment for not destroying them.<ref name="Born As Prey">'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King - Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow, [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow#XV: Born As Prey|XV: Born As Prey]]''</ref> Rather than dying, Auryx's soul instead passed to the [[Ascendant Realm]], where it resided until he returned to the mortal realm.<ref name="Weakness Verse">'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King - Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow, [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow#XVII: The Weakness Verse|XVII: The Weakness Verse]]''</ref> Rebuked, Auryx purged what sympathy and goodwill he had left, becoming a merciless tyrant. They overwhelmed the Ammonites, slew the Leviathan, and forced Taox and the Traveler to flee.<ref name="Crusaders"/>

He and his sisters regularly warred with and killed one another afterwards, as part of their worship of the Sword-Logic and their attempt to become the sharpest blades in the universe, each returning to their throne worlds whenever defeated. Their war of revenge against Taox had transformed into a campaign of mass genocide when they slew the [[Qugu]] and other interstellar civilizations to feed their worms. The gods of the Hive also established their throne worlds within the Ascendant realm, with Auryx naming his the High War.<ref name="Hive">'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King - Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow, [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow#XX: Hive|XX: Hive]]''</ref><ref name=Incision>'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King - Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow, [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow#XXI: an incision|XXI: an incision]]''</ref><ref name="The High War">'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King - Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow, [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow#XXII: The High War|XXII: The High War]]''</ref><ref>'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King - Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow, [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow#XXIII: fire without fuel|XXIII: fire without fuel]]''</ref> [[Savathûn]] was inspired by this, and named her own throne world the [[High Coven]].<ref name="The High War"/>

During the [[Hive-Ecumene war|Hive's war]] with the [[Ecumene]], Auryx came to realize that the Worm Gods had deceived him and his sisters: their worms' appetites were growing past the abilities of their hosts to feed them with death.<ref>'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King - Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow, [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow#XXIV: THE SCREAM|XXIV: THE SCREAM]]''</ref> Meeting with his sisters in his Ascendant Realm, surrounded by their servants (some of which despised them for showing weakness) they despaired over this dilemma. When his sisters offered their power to help Auryx find a way to save them, Auryx killed them, then used that power to confront his patron Worm god [[Akka, the Worm of Secrets]].<ref>'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King - Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow, [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow#XXVI: star by star by star|XXVI: star by star by star]]''</ref> He killed Akka so that he might steal its ability to call upon the Deep, and created the Tablets of Ruin, which gave him the power to [[Taken|Take]]. His transformation complete, Auryx was now Oryx, the Taken King.<ref name="King of Shapes">'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King - Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow, [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow#XXVIII: King of Shapes|XXVIII: King of Shapes]]''</ref> During the subsequent war with the Ecumene, Oryx revived Xivu Arath in an act of war, and revived Savathûn in an act of cunning. He then decreed the tithe system: each Hive would kill their enemies, take some power to feed their own worm and tithe the rest to their superior. Thralls would tithe power to Acolytes, Acolytes would tithe power to Knights or Wizards, the Knights and Wizards would tithe power to the [[Ascendant Hive]], who commanded legions of warriors and earned the right to enter the Hive gods' respective throne worlds. All of this violence would eventually reach Oryx, Savathûn, and Xivu Arath, allowing their worms to feed on violence while continuing to invoke their inner natures.<ref name="Carved in Ruin">'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King - Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow, [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow#XXIX: Carved in Ruin|XXIX: Carved in Ruin]]''</ref>

Fearing that he was becoming a nihilist, Oryx eventually decided to sire his own spawn. The result of this was [[Crota, Son of Oryx]], and the Deathsinger twins, [[Ir Anûk, Deathsinger|Ir Anûk]] and [[Ir Halak, Deathsinger|Ir Halak]]. One day, the Deathsingers were refining their [[Deathsong]]s and came up with the idea of the [[Oversoul]]. Intrigued, Oryx commanded Crota to watch his sisters, so that he might learn something. But while Oryx was off studying the Deep, Crota was deceived by Savathûn into using his [[Cleaver]] to cut a portal in the High War, allowing the [[Vex]] to enter.<ref name="partition">'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King - Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow, [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow#XXXVIII: The partition of death|XXXVII: The partition of death]]''</ref> For one hundred years the children of Oryx waged war with the Vex, who quickly deduced that worshiping the Sword Logic and the Deep was key to attaining power in the High War. However, while the Hive were able to overpower the Vex, they were unable to expel them, as they lost too much power whenever they entered the Vex conflux. The situation became so severe that the Worm God Eir itself demanded that Oryx return and end the war.<ref name="open eye">'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King - Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow, [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow#XXXIX: open your eye : go into it|XXXIX: open your eye : go into it]]''</ref> Quickly returning to the High War, Oryx used his powers to Take the Vex and cleanse his throne world. Angered at his son's imperfection, Oryx threw Crota into the Vex gate network, decreeing that he "''return victorious or die forgotten''". At first, Crota resented his father for his apparent abandonment, but after time, he came to understand his father, and built temples to Oryx and the Deep, eventually becoming a vital link in Oryx's tithe of death and achieving godhood himself.<ref name="Emperor">'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King - Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow, [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow#XL: An Emperor For All Outcomes|XL: An Emperor For All Outcomes]]''</ref> However, Oryx recognized that the threat of the Vex invading his throne world could not happen again, so he moved the High War into a mighty [[Dreadnaught]] scrimshawed from the remains of Akka.<ref name="Dreadnaught">'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King - Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow, [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow#XLI: Dreadnaught|XLI: Dreadnaught]]''</ref>

During the [[Hive-Harmony war|Hive's campaign]] against the [[Harmony]] and the Vex, [[Quria, Blade Transform]] presented Oryx with a simulation of his former self, Aurash. Oryx looked upon the simulation with amusement, while Aurash looked upon Oryx in horror, demanding to know what he had done to her sisters and her people.<ref>'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King - Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow, [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow#XLII: <>.7C<>.7C<>|XLII: XLII: <>|<>|<>]]''</ref><ref name="Timeline">'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King - Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow, [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow#XLIII: End of Failed Timeline|XLIII: End of Failed Timeline]]''</ref> In the end, Oryx Took Quria and presented the Vex to Savathûn as a gift. When she asked him what proof they had that their actions right, Oryx simply replied that the Hive's existence was proof enough in their convictions to live eternal by the Sword-Logic.<ref name="spe">'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King - Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow, [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow#XLIV: strict proof eternal|XLIV: strict proof eternal]]''</ref> Following the war with the Harmony, Savathûn decided that her fleets would enter the black hole that the Harmony lived around, claiming that they would become stronger for it, while Xivu Arath detached her fleets from Oryx's, as she felt he constrained her too much.<ref>'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King - Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow, [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow#XLVI: The Gift Mast|XLVI: The Gift Mast]]''</ref> Meanwhile, Oryx continued his crusade alone while ruminating on the future.<ref>'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King - Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow, [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow#XLVII: Apocalypse Refrains|XLVII: Apocalypse Refrains]]''</ref><ref>'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King - Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow, [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow#XLIX: Forever And A Blade|XLIX: Forever And A Blade]]''</ref>

At some point before the dawn of [[Human]]ity on [[Earth]], the Hive had secretly seeded themselves deep below the depths of Luna.<ref>'''Bungie (2019/10/1)''', ''Destiny 2: [[Shadowkeep]] - [[Toland, the Shattered]]: [https://youtu.be/fBQiXy50qsM?si=c2tCRLhJNY7HrWiB "For millennia, humanity gazed at the Moon and envisioned visiting it. Yet, no one dreamed it a trespass. The Hive is not a welcoming host, as you well know."]''</ref> It is there that they would completely terraform the entire interior of the moon from the bottom up into an impregnable fortress called the [[Hellmouth]].<ref name= "Hellmouth">'''Bungie (2014/9/9)''', ''Destiny - Grimoire:Enemies/Hive, [[Grimoire:Enemies/Hive#Ghost Fragment: Hive|Ghost Fragment: Hive]]''</ref> Traces of their presence were first uncovered by human scientists sometime during the [[Golden Age]], when they uncovered an [[Anomaly (artifact)|artifact]] that established contact with the [[The Witness|Witness]].<ref>'''Bungie (2019/10/1)''', ''Destiny 2: Shadowkeep - Lore:[[Lore:Revelation|Revelation]], [[Lore:Revelation#The Discovery|The Discovery]]''</ref> The Hive would emerge during the [[Collapse]], whereupon they slaughtered the inhabitants of the [[First Light Lunar Installation]] and the [[K1]] [[The Anomaly|Project site]].<ref>'''Bungie (2019/10/1)''', ''Destiny 2: Shadowkeep - Lore:Revelation, [[Lore:Revelation#Downfall|Downfall]]''</ref> <ref>'''Bungie (2014/9/9)''', ''Destiny - Grimoire:[[Grimoire:Places|Places]]/[[Grimoire:Places/Moon|Moon]], [[Grimoire:Places/Moon#Ghost Fragment: The Ocean of Storms 2|Ghost Fragment: The Ocean of Storms 2]]''</ref> After reclaiming their stake on the moon, they continued to lie dormant and recover their strength for centuries until the threat of their existence faded to myth by the time of the City Age.<ref name="Moon">'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King - Grimoire:[[Grimoire:Allies|Allies]]/[[Grimoire:Allies/Legends & Mysteries|Legends & Mysteries]], [[Grimoire:Allies/Legends & Mysteries#Rezyl Azzir - Before These Walls|Rezyl Azzir - Before These Walls]]''</ref>  

During the early [[City Age]], [[Dredgen Yor|Rezyl Azzir]] became the first [[Guardian]] to reach the Moon. Pursuing ancient mysteries regarding the existence of the Hive, Rezyl made first contact with [[Xyor, the Unwed|Xyor, the Blessed]] and her betrothed [[Knight]].<ref name="Xyor">'''Bungie (2016/20/9)''', ''Destiny: [[Rise of Iron]] - Grimoire:Allies/Legends & Mysteries, [[Grimoire:Allies/Legends & Mysteries#Legends and Mysteries: Rezyl Azzir|Legends and Mysteries: Rezyl Azzir]]''</ref> After facing off with Xyor's consort and the witch's magic, Rezyl emerged victorious, and escaped to warn the [[Last City|City]] of the imposing threat. However, the magic that affected Rezyl during the battle with Xyor and her Knight would slowly corrupt him into the hated Guardian killer, [[Dredgen]] Yor, and create the most infamous [[Weapons of Sorrow|Weapon of Sorrow]]: [[Thorn]].<ref name="Fall">'''Bungie (2017/28/3)''', ''Destiny: [[Age of Triumph]] - Grimoire:Allies/Legends & Mysteries, [[Grimoire:Allies/Legends & Mysteries#Legend: Rezyl Azzir - The Triumphant Fall|Legend: Rezyl Azzir - The Triumphant Fall]]''</ref>

As the Hive launched their [[Seeder Ship]]s towards Earth, a fireteam encountered elements of the Hive in the [[Rusted Lands]] in the ''Eastern Flooded Zone''; only one surviving [[Hunter]] returned to warn the City of the initial Hive invasion of Earth.<ref name="TRL">'''Bungie (2014/9/9)''', ''[[Destiny]] - [[Grimoire]]:[[Grimoire:Activities|Activities]]/[[Grimoire:Activities#Crucible Arenas|Crucible Arenas]], [[Grimoire:Activities/Crucible Arenas#The Rusted Lands|The Rusted Lands]]''</ref> Against overwhelming odds, the Guardians succeeded, barely, in repelling the Hive's offense at the [[Battle of Burning Lake]]. Not realizing the true threat the Hive posed, they planned a counterattack on the moon. Lord [[Shaxx]], a veteran of Burning Lake, opposed this, and eventually busted in on a [[Consensus]] meeting, calling the idea of a counterattack 'madness' and saying that the Guardians needed to learn about the Hive's swords and find a way to defend against them, first.<ref>'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King - Grimoire:[[Grimoire:Inventory|Inventory]]/[[Grimoire:Inventory/Heavy Weapons|Heavy Weapons]], [[Grimoire:Inventory/Heavy Weapons#Raze-Lighter|Raze-Lighter]]''</ref> The Consensus ignored Shaxx's warnings and the failed attack that followed was later called the [[Great Disaster]]. The Sword Logic proved to be too much for the Guardians, as countless heroes fell before Crota's [[Blades of Crota|Blades]], rendering the entire battle a mere slaughter.<ref>'''Bungie (2014/12/9)''', ''Destiny: [[The Dark Below]] - Grimoire:Enemies/[[Grimoire:Enemies/Exalted Hive|Exalted Hive]], [[Grimoire:Enemies/Exalted Hive#Blades of Crota|Blades of Crota]]''</ref> In particular, the legendary [[Titan (class)|Titan]] [[Wei Ning]] was slain personally by the God-Knight, who cracked the surface of the Moon with his sword, forcing the Guardians to retreat completely from the battle.<ref name="Warlock2">'''Bungie (2014/9/9)''', ''Destiny - Grimoire:[[Grimoire:Guardian|Guardian]]/[[Grimoire:Guardian#Classes|Classes]], [[Grimoire:Guardian/Classes#Ghost Fragment: Warlock 2|Ghost Fragment: Warlock 2]]''</ref> The Vanguard and Consensus then declared the Moon off-limits, and allowed only the most elite Guardians enter.<ref>'''Bungie (2014/9/9)''', ''Destiny - Grimoire:Places/Moon, [[Grimoire:Places/Moon#Ghost Fragment: The Ocean of Storms|Ghost Fragment: The Ocean of Storms]]''</ref>

As revenge for the slain, the [[Warlock]] [[Eriana-3]] led five other Guardians there in an attempt to kill Crota, only for the team to have their Light suppressed in the depths of the Hellmouth, leaving the Hive to pick them off one by one.<ref>'''Bungie (2014/12/9)''', ''Destiny: The Dark Below - Grimoire:Activities/[[Grimoire:Activities/Raids|Raids]], [[Grimoire:Activities/Raids#Crota's End|Crota's End]]''</ref><ref name="Crota">'''Bungie (2014/12/9)''', ''Destiny: The Dark Below - Grimoire:Enemies/Exalted Hive, [[Grimoire:Enemies/Exalted Hive#Crota, Son of Oryx|Crota, Son of Oryx]]''</ref> Only one of the Guardians, [[Eris Morn]], survived. Trapped in the Hellmouth for years, only having recently escaped as a Lightless Guardian, forever changed, scarred and seeking vengeance upon Crota and the Hive.<ref>.'''Bungie (2014/12/9)''', ''Destiny: The Dark Below - Grimoire:Allies/[[Grimoire:Allies/Tower Allies|Tower Allies]], [[Grimoire:Allies/Tower Allies#Crota's Bane|Crota's Bane]]''</ref>

Years later, the [[Hidden Swarm]] began stirring beneath the [[Skywatch]] at [[Old Russia]].<ref name="TDW">'''Bungie (2014/9/9)''', ''Destiny - [[The Dark Within]]''</ref> Meanwhile, the Hive within the [[Temple of Crota]] was preparing for a second invasion of Earth; this time also attacking the Traveler directly in a ritual to slowly drain its Light using one of its broken shards. Despite the Hive's efforts, the ritual was thwarted by a newly risen [[The Guardian|Guardian]].<ref name="CON">'''Bungie (2014/9/9)''', ''Destiny - [[Chamber of Night (mission)|Chamber of Night]]''</ref>

Crota's [[Spawn of Crota|spawn]] would play a major role when his consort [[Omnigul]] left the Hellmouth to lead the Hive in their impending invasion of Earth, with a plot to disable Rasputin's [[Warsat]] defenses. In retaliation, Eris Morn called upon allies who heeded her warnings to dismantle Crota's army and prevent Crota's imminent return. Crota's disciples were slain by the Guardian, including the [[Swarm Princes]] and their commander [[Sardon, Fist of Crota|Sardon]],<ref>'''Bungie (2014/9/9)''', ''Destiny - [[The Sword of Crota]]''</ref><ref>'''Bungie (2014/12/9)''', ''Destiny: The Dark Below - [[Fist of Crota]]''</ref> leaving the Hive army in disarray and thwarted Omnigul's attempt to sabotage [[Rasputin]].<ref>'''Bungie (2014/12/9)''', ''Destiny: The Dark Below - [[Siege of the Warmind]]''</ref> The Hive attempted a ritual to summon Crota back from his throne world, but the Guardian intervened. The crystal tethering his soul in the [[Chamber of Night]] would be sent back to his Throne World, banishing him from the physical world and thereby preventing his corporeal return.<ref>'''Bungie (2014/12/9)''', ''Destiny: The Dark Below - [[The Wakening]]''</ref> His general and acting Will, Omnigul, was later slain by Guardians who traced her back to [[Skywatch]].<ref name="Will of Crota">'''Bungie (2014/12/9)''', ''Destiny: The Dark Below - [[Will of Crota]]''</ref>

Crota's end would be met by the Guardian leading a fireteam of six to raid upon the [[Oversoul Throne]], entered from the deepest pit of the Hellmouth. The Guardians would summon Crota from his crystal to engage in his own Throne World. When conventional means failed before the Hope-Eater, the Guardians turned Crota's own Sword Logic against him with the Cleavers of his fallen Blades, permanently killing him.<ref>'''Bungie (2014/12/9)''', ''Destiny: The Dark Below - [[Crota's End]]''</ref> This would mark the Hive's first true defeat, the loss of one of their gods and their race's heir to the Osmium Throne.

After learning of the death of his son, Crota, Oryx personally traveled to the Solar System aboard his Dreadnaught, accompanied by a Hive fleet and his Taken army.<ref>'''Bungie (2014/9/9)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King - Grimoire:Enemies/Exalted Hive, [[Grimoire:Enemies/Exalted Hive#Oryx, the Taken King|Oryx, the Taken King]]''</ref> They were met with opposition by Queen [[Mara Sov]] and her [[Reef]]born [[Awoken]] armadas at the [[Battle of Saturn]], which ended in a pyrrhic victory for the King who wiped out the Queen's forces with his Dreadnaught's [[Oversoul|superweapon]]. With his fleet decimated after the battle, Oryx's Taken forces attacked [[Cabal]] bases on [[Phobos]] and [[Mars]] to rebuild his numbers and regain his advantage. Cabal detachments were devastated within hours, with the [[Sand Eaters]] suffering a catastrophic 58% casualties, while the [[Blind Legion]] and the [[Dust Giants]] lost 35% and 39% of their numbers respectively. The [[Vanguard]] discovered Oryx's presence after sending a Guardian to Phobos to investigate a Cabal distress signal, by which time Taken covens began appearing on multiple worlds, ushering in the Taken War.<ref name="TCW">'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King - [[The Coming War]]''</ref>

Oryx was nearly beaten when the Guardian breached his sanctum and attacked him, but like all Hive Gods, this was only a temporary setback. Using his Taken powers, he escaped into the Ascendant realm to recuperate from his injuries.<ref>'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King - [[Regicide]]''</ref> Meanwhile, his Taken, led by his [[Echo of Oryx|Echoes]], continued to harass the system. Once the blights had been removed, the Guardians turned their attention to Oryx and his champions.<ref>'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King - [[The Taken War Campaign]]''</ref> By overthrowing the [[Court of Oryx]] and killing his minions, they were able to breach deeper into the Dreadnaught. After his closest allies—the [[Warpriest]] and [[Golgoroth]], including his own daughters—were killed, Oryx returned to fight the Guardian once more, this time as a gigantic version of his physical body. Here he attempted to pull the Guardian Raid team into the Darkness multiple times and Take them, but they were able to use Oryx's own captured Light against him. By slaying his Light-Eater Ogres and Knights, and then detonating the Light they left behind to wound him, the Guardians were able to strike at the God-King's Heart directly, slaying Oryx for good.<ref>'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King - [[King's Fall]]''</ref>

{{Quote|The Taken King is dead. Yet his armies writhe and claw at our worlds.|Eris Morn}}<ref name="BC">'''Bungie (2016/4/12)''', ''Destiny: [[April Update]] - [[Blighted Chalice]]''</ref>

Since the Guardians refused to take Oryx's place as the next Taken King, various powerful Hive and Taken entities arose in a bid to claim the Osmium Throne for their own. Chief among the contenders for the throne were [[Alak-Hul, the Darkblade]], a powerful Hive warrior Oryx imprisoned for an earlier usurpation,<ref>'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King - Grimoire:Enemies/Exalted Hive, [[Grimoire:Enemies/Exalted Hive#Alak-Hul, the Darkblade|Alak-Hul, the Darkblade]]''</ref> and [[Malok, Pride of Oryx]], a former scion of Savathûn Taken by Oryx.<ref>'''Bungie (2016/4/12)''', ''Destiny: April Update - Grimoire:Enemies/[[Grimoire:Enemies/The Taken|The Taken]], [[Grimoire:Enemies/The Taken#Malok, Pride of Oryx|Malok, Pride of Oryx]]''</ref> Before Alak-Hul could break out of his shadowed cell, Eris Morn called upon the Guardians to break into the prison section of the Dreadnaught, not only to remove a potential candidate for the throne but also to avenge her fallen comrades who fell to Alak-Hul. After fighting to Alak-Hul's cell in [[The Hanging Crypts]], the Guardians battled with the Darkblade within his own black cell, but after a tense battle, they defeated the Darkblade.<ref name="TSC">'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King - [[The Sunless Cell]]''</ref>

Sometime later, Malok enacted his own campaign to seize Oryx's throne, using his mastery of the [[Blight]]s to further his goals and possibly launch an all-out assault on the Last City to prove his claim. However, word of his activities caught the attention of [[Variks]], who relayed his findings to Eris Morn. Calling upon the Guardians once more, they managed to drive Malok out of the Dreadnaught,<ref>'''Bungie (2016/4/12)''', ''Destiny: April Update - [[Pretender to the Throne]]''</ref> forcing the Taken-Hive Prince to retreat to the Hellmouth on the Moon. Tracking Malok, the Guardians fight past his Taken forces and persevere against the Blights, before reaching the [[Shrine of Oryx]], where Malok makes his final stand. Despite his mastery over the Blights, Malok failed against the Guardians.<ref name="BC"/>

Following a year after the Taken War and the death of their God-King, the Hive on Earth still appear to be organized but hunkered down in their nests, and have gone into conflict with the [[SIVA]]-augmented [[Fallen]] [[Devil Splicers]] in the [[Plaguelands]].<ref>'''Bungie (2016/9/15)''', ''Destiny: Rise of Iron - [[The Walls Come Down]]''</ref> Soon enough, the ambitions of the Splicers, led by [[Kovik, Splicer Priest]], extend to experiment on not only themselves but the Hive as well, whether to control them as a slave army or to weaponize their mysterious biology. Furious, the Hive begin an all-out war with the Splicers. Through the efforts of the Guardians, the Fallen's efforts to control or weaponize the Hive were thwarted and Kovik was killed.<ref>'''Bungie (2016/9/15)''', ''Destiny: Rise of Iron - [[Wretched Eye]]''</ref>

The Hive remained active during the events of [[Dominus Ghaul]]'s [[Red War|invasion]], having infested Saturn's moon [[Titan (moon)|Titan]].<ref>'''Bungie (2017/8/9)''', ''Destiny 2 - [[Riptide]]''</ref> After the [[Red Legion]] succeeded in attacking the Last City and sealed away the Traveler's Light, the Lightless Guardians of the Vanguard led by Commander [[Zavala]] took what remained of the Vanguard fleet to Titan to set up a base to plan their counterattack. Unfortunately, Zavala was unaware of the Hive's infestation of Titan, and when a force of Lightless Guardians attempted to drive the Hive out, they were defeated. To make matters worse, the Fallen [[House of Dusk]] followed the Vanguard. Upon their arrival, the Fallen began to pillage the [[Golden Age]] facilities while also engaging the Hive and the Lightless Vanguard. Despite this, a Guardian was able to regain their light and traveled to Titan to aid Zavala, clearing out enough of the Hive and reactivating the facilities for the Vanguard to set up a base.<ref>'''Bungie (2017/8/9)''', ''Destiny 2 - [[Hope]]''</ref> After Zavala moved to [[The Farm]] on Earth, the Vanguard forces on Titan were under the command of [[Sloane]]. Under her supervision, the Guardians began to make progress in driving the Hive away from their base while also powering the facilities.{{Citation needed}}

Throughout the Red War, even after the Guardians reclaimed the Last City, the Hive broods on Titan have made numerous attempts to sink the [[New Pacific Arcology]] where the Guardians and Fallen battle. All their attempts were thwarted by the Guardians, and some of their field leaders were slain.<ref>'''Bungie (2017/8/9)''', ''Destiny 2 - [[Siren Song]]''</ref> Later on, Sloane located the center point of the Hive's rituals, sending numerous teams to investigate, but none returned. After Sloane lost contact with the latest team sent, she requested the Guardian to locate the missing teams and finish their mission. After delving deep into Hive territory, the Guardians lost contact with Sloane and Zavala but made radio contact with [[Taeko-3]], a Praxic Order agent and a member of the last team Sloane had sent. She guides the Guardians through Hive defenses and encounters strange crystals emitting Void Light, which were disturbingly revealed to be extracted from Guardians. Taeko further reveals that a massive [[Shrieker]], dubbed [[Savathûn's Song]], is using the Void Light for a specific ritual, and they won't be able to destroy the Shrieker without Void Light. Resolving to aid the Guardian, Taeko sacrifices herself by allowing her Light to be extracted into a Void Crystal, which the Guardians use to breach the Shrieker's defenses. Taeko's sacrifice was not in vain, as, despite the Shrieker's power and Hive servants, the Guardians managed to destroy the Shrieker, avenging Taeko and her fallen comrades.<ref>'''Bungie (2017/8/9)''', ''Destiny 2 - [[Savathûn's Song (strike)|Savathûn's Song]]''</ref>

{{Quote|The markings suggest this is a Hive god, but I don't recognize the symbol. Nothing in the World's Grave file either. The name is… Nokris.|Ghost}}<ref name="GhostScan">'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King - [[Ghost scan]]: [[Ghost scan#Dreadnaught, Rings of Saturn|DNT-TRN-3]]''</ref>

After the chaos of the Red War and the reawakening of the Traveler, a new, massive Hive army, the [[Grasp of Nokris]], that has lain dormant within the frozen tundra of [[Hellas Basin]] on [[Mars]], emerged to bring about the destruction of the Warmind Rasputin. Leading this army is the Worm God Xol and its herald, [[Nokris, Herald of Xol|Nokris]], the mysterious disowned son of Oryx.<ref>'''Bungie (2018/5/8)''', ''Destiny 2: [[Warmind (expansion)|Warmind]]''</ref>

Many centuries earlier, Nokris, was exiled from kith and kin for violating the Sword Logic via necromancy. Nokris originally hoped to prove himself to his father by communing with the Worm Gods the same way Oryx himself did but was rejected by them to save Xol, Will of the Thousands. They forged a pact where Nokris traded his heart for the secrets of necromancy, which Oryx viewed as heresy. Despite being exiled, Nokris and his followers aimed to conquer a world for their god and Mars became their target.<ref name="VB">'''Bungie (2018/5/8)''', ''Destiny 2: [[Warmind (expansion)|Warmind]] - Item Description: [[Verity's Brow#Lore|Verity's Brow]]''</ref><ref>'''Bungie (2018/4/30)''', ''[[Weblore]]:[[Weblore:Warmind|Warmind]] - [[Weblore:Warmind#Apocrypha|Apocrypha]]''</ref> However, Rasputin put a halt to their invasion, managing to imprison Nokris, Xol, and their army within the frozen wastes of Hellas Basin. For centuries they remained there until the return of the Light melted their prison. Now free, the forces of Xol aimed to destroy the ancient Warmind and continue their conquest of Mars.{{Citation needed}}

Hoping to avert this disaster and learn more about her past, [[Ana Bray]] summoned the Guardians to lead the defense of the ancient Warmind and face the Hive head-on. The Guardians would face off against Xol's horde but encounter Nokris and the Worm God itself who aim to rule the planet. Despite killing the herald of Xol, the Worm God itself proved too powerful for the Guardian to defeat alone. Against his better judgment and with Ana Bray's guidance, Zavala would allow the Guardian to forge a powerful Warmind weapon, the [[Valkyrie]].<ref>'''Bungie (2018/5/8)''', ''Destiny 2: Warmind - [[Strange Terrain]]''</ref> Reaching the Worm God just outside the ancient Warmind's core, the Warrior of Light battled with the Will of the Thousands for the fate of Rasputin and Mars. Despite its immense power, Xol was killed by the Guardian using the Valkyrie, robbing the Hive of one of their most powerful entities.<ref>'''Bungie (2018/5/8)''', ''Destiny 2: Warmind - [[Will of the Thousands]]''</ref>

The leaderless Grasp of Nokris remained an active threat on Mars that Guardians continue to face while also dealing with remnants of the Red Legion but find that its members are sending messages beyond the system, aimed towards Savathûn, pleading her to arrive and assume control.<ref>'''Bungie (2018/5/8)''', ''Destiny 2: Warmind - [[Deathly Tremors]]''</ref> Xol himself would cheat death and transcend physical form by drawing power from the Sword Logic and using the Taken on Io, taking the shape of former enemies of humanity, for the Guardians to face and kill. Once the Guardian proved themselves worthy of a host to feed upon, Xol invoked the [[Anthem Anatheme]] and transformed into the [[Whisper of the Worm]] weapon as a conduit to feed off of the Guardian's kills.<ref>'''Bungie (2018/5/8)''', ''Destiny 2: Warmind - Item Description: [[Whisper of the Worm#Lore|Whisper of the Worm]]''</ref>

{{Quote|Two star-crossed lovers have sullied my Shore: our old friend the Mindbender — may he rest in pieces — and In Anânh, a Hive Brood Queen, traitor to her kin. Eliksni have crossed lines with the Hive in the past, but never at this scale.|[[The Spider]]}}<ref name="Broodhold">'''Bungie (2018/9/4)''', ''Destiny 2: [[Forsaken]] - [[Broodhold]]''</ref>

After the fall of Nokris and Xol, the Hive enter into a strange situation during the Guardians [[Hunt for the Scorn|personal war]] with the Fallen [[Scorn]] within the Reef. One of the Scorn Barons, [[Hiraks, the Mindbender]], who somehow survived the Hellmouth as a Dreg, developed a morbid fascination with the Hive<ref>'''Bungie (2018/9/4)''', ''Destiny 2: Forsaken - Lore:[[Lore:The Lawless Frontier|The Lawless Frontier]], [[Lore:The Lawless Frontier#By Thy Tongue Be Damned|By Thy Tongue Be Damned]]''</ref> and its powers and somehow managed to take control of a large Hive brood within the [[Tangled Shore]] that were stranded after the Battle of Saturn at the onset of the Taken War.{{Citation needed}} Hiraks was even able to create his own [[Ascendant Plane (location)|Throne World]] from the deaths of his enemies, [[Cayde-6]] in particular.<ref name="Mindbender">'''Bungie (2018/9/4)''', ''Destiny 2: Forsaken - [[Target: The Mindbender]]''</ref>. The Mindbender also made experiments upon the Hive with [[Ether]], creating a host of Ether Worms.<ref name="Broodhold"/> However, the Mindbender's rise to power within the Hive was put down when the Guardian sought out Hiraks and the Scorn Barons for the murder of the Hunter Vanguard. Battling through a downed Hive Warship, the Guardian breached into Hiraks' Throne World and battled with the Mindbender and his mind-controlled Hive. Despite his power and Hive minions, Hiraks was killed, causing his Throne World to destabilize and collapse, and leaving the Hive on the Shore without a leader.<ref name="Mindbender"/>

Despite these occurrences, Savathûn continued to operate in the shadows but assumed near-complete control over the Taken thanks to her possible usage of the Taken Vex Mind, Quria, Blade Transform. With the Taken under her direction, she had plans for the Awoken [[Dreaming City]], which was sealed shortly before the [[Taken War]]. Within the City, the [[Ahamkara]], [[Riven of a Thousand Voices]], was also Taken and became one of Savathûn's most useful allies.<ref>'''Bungie (2018/9/18)''', ''Destiny 2: Forsaken - Item Description: [[Great Hunt Suit#Boots of the Great Hunt|Boots of the Great Hunt]]''</ref> Though Riven orchestrated the Scorn's rampage across the Reef, including the murder of Cayde-6, she planned to open the gateway to the Dreaming City with Uldren Sov as her puppet. Appearing as his sister, Mara Sov, Riven slowly corrupted the Awoken prince's mind, bending him to her will until he would gather what was needed to open the Gateway to the City; a combination of Light and Darkness.<ref name="NLTS"/><ref>'''Bungie (2018/9/4)''', ''Destiny 2: Forsaken - [[Awakening (mission)|Awakening]]''</ref>  

The rogue prince managed to open the way but instead of his sister appearing as he believed it was her directing his actions, only a grotesque Taken creature of Riven's, the [[Voice of Riven]], appeared in her place. However, once again due to the Guardian's actions,  the Taken Chimera was slain and the Hunter Vanguard avenged, but Riven remained a threat to the Reef and the whole Solar System.<ref name="NLTS">'''Bungie (2018/9/4)''', ''Destiny 2: Forsaken - [[Nothing Left to Say]]''</ref> Nonetheless, finally gaining the Vanguard's support, aided by their Awoken allies and freeing the [[Techeun]]s from Taken corruption, the Guardians managed to kill the corrupted Riven and purge her heart of Taken essence.<ref name = "Last Wish">'''Bungie (2018/9/18)''', ''Destiny 2: Forsaken - [[Last Wish]]''</ref>

With the rules of ascendancy altered by Riven's wish, entities - both Hive and Taken - under the command of Xivu Arath, began appearing in the Dreaming City. These entities pillaged the Dreaming City for relics bearing dangerous knowledge for an unknown purpose. The Guardian, however, thwarted this plan by stealing the relics back and killing a Taken Chimera, [[Xaras, Greed of Xivu Arath]].<ref>'''Bungie (2018/9/4)''', ''Destiny 2: Forsaken - [[Broken Courier]]''</ref>

{{Quote|When you killed Riven, she granted your wish to see the city made safe. But as all wishgranters do, she perverted that wish, opening the Dreaming City to Dûl Incaru. When you defeated Dûl Incaru in turn, I reset the entire Dreaming City to keep her permanently occupied battling you. You must use these loops to find a way to permanently destroy her.|[[Medusa]]}}<ref name="r-c-a">'''Bungie (2018/9/4)''', ''Destiny 2: Forsaken - Lore:[[Lore:Truth to Power|Truth to Power]], [[Lore:Truth to Power#react.7Cchoose.7Cact|react|choose|act]]''</ref>

As the Taken curse blighted the Dreaming City, [[Dûl Incaru, the Eternal Return]], a daughter of the Witch-Queen, took advantage of the curse to plunder the city of its secrets and more importantly, further her mother's scheme of invading the [[Distributary]] and gain godly strength.<ref name="r-c-a"/> Using [[Eleusinia]], Mara Sov's desecrated Throne World, as a staging ground and aided by the Taken and Hive sent from her aunt Xivu Arath, Dûl Incaru waged an unending battle against the Awoken led by [[Petra Venj]] but Queen Mara called upon her allies in the Guardians to fight back against the Taken curse.{{Citation needed}} After two weeks of fighting the Taken and Hive, a rift to Eleusinia was opened beneath the [[Blind Well]] that allowed the Guardians to battle the Witch-Queen's daughter. Despite the protection of her [[Darkblade|Fatesmith]]s, Dûl Incaru was killed by the Guardians.<ref>'''Bungie (2018/9/25)''', ''Destiny 2: Forsaken - [[The Shattered Throne]]''</ref>

However, this seeming failure was all part of Savathûn's greater plans for the Dreaming City. After Dûl Incaru's death at the hands of the Guardians, the Dreaming City reverted to the state it had been in upon first being unsealed by the Guardian, progressing again through the same process of becoming corrupted by the Taken and culminating in another battle between Dûl Incaru and the Guardians.{{Citation needed}} This apparent time-loop, spun by Quria,<ref name="a-c-r">'''Bungie (2018/9/4)''', ''Destiny 2: Forsaken - Lore:Truth to Power, [[Lore:Truth to Power#act.7Cchoose.7Creact|act|choose|react]]''</ref> further Savathûn's long-term goal of amassing tribute for herself through her subordinates committing violence within spaces with looped or dilated time,<ref>'''Bungie (2018/9/4)''', ''Destiny 2: Forsaken - Lore:Truth to Power, [[Lore:Truth to Power#Injection|Injection]]''</ref> and also presents the Guardians with a dilemma: they can either repeatedly strike down Dûl Incaru and relive the same series of events or they can refuse to do so and allow Dûl Incaru to complete her mission.<ref name="r-c-a"/>

In the [[Lost Sector]] of [[Methane Flush]] on Titan, a [[Servant of the Betrothed|servant]] of Xyor, the Unwed was found by a Guardian, sent out by the [[Drifter]], performing a strange ritual. The servant was defeated by the Guardian and dropped a helmet with a strange bullet hole through the front. The Drifter instructed the Guardian to sully their Light and then defeat the weapon master creating new Weapons of Sorrow.<ref>'''Bungie (2018/12/4)''', ''Destiny 2: [[Season of the Forge]] - [[The Damnation]]''</ref><ref>'''Bungie (2018/12/4)''', ''Destiny 2: Season of the Forge - [[The Draw#Step 6: A New Jagged Purpose|A New Jagged Purpose]]''</ref>

The Guardian tracked [[Enkaar, the Anointed]] to Hellrise Canyon and The Broodhold on the Tangled Shore. After three duels against the weapon master, in which Enkaar would use a Proto-Thorn and the Guardian would use [[The Last Word]], Enkaar was soon defeated and his weapon production collapsed.<ref>'''Bungie (2018/12/4)''', ''Destiny 2: Season of the Forge - [[The Conversation]]''</ref>

Though Savathûn continued in her schemes in breaching the [[Distributary]] and undermining the Guardians, the Witch Queen soon found a competitor in the form of the exiled Cabal [[Emperor Calus]]. Forming a trap for the emperor, Savathûn created an artifact called the [[Crown of Sorrow]], planting the rumor that the crown could mimic Oryx's ability to Take but in reality, it would drive the wearer mad with voices and bring them under the Witch Queen's control.<ref>'''Bungie (2019/6/4)''', ''Destiny 2: [[Season of Opulence]] - Item Description: [[Shadow of War Suit#Shadow's Greaves|Shadow's Greaves]]''</ref><ref>'''Bungie (2019/6/3)''', ''Weblore:[[Weblore:Season of Opulence|Season of Opulence]] - [[Weblore:Season of Opulence#.22Am I to Cast a Shadow.3F.22|"Am I to Cast a Shadow?"]]''</ref> Calus soon learned of the artifact's existence and as expected, the emperor desired it to further his goals. Invading one of the Hive's War Moons, Calus acquired the Crown but instead of wearing the crown himself as Savathûn predicted, the emperor granted it to one of his [[Shadows of Calus|Shadow]] agents, [[Gahlran]].The emperor specifically bred Gahlran to bear the Crown and its powers, hoping that the artifact would allow Gahlran to command the Hive, thereby furthering Calus's goals.<ref>'''Bungie (2019/6/4)''', ''Destiny 2: Season of Opulence - Item Description: [[Shadow of War Suit#Shadow's Gauntlets|Shadow's Gauntlets]]''</ref> Unfortunately, the Crown, as it was designed, drove Gahlran completely mad, who then brought a large infestation of the Hive upon Calus's personal ship, [[The Leviathan]].{{Citation needed}}

Though Calus was angered that Gahlran was consumed by the Crown, realizing that Savathûn had tricked him, the emperor called upon his Guardian allies to put the newly named Sorrow-Bearer down before he could do any more damage.<ref>'''Bungie (2019/6/4)''', ''Destiny 2: Season of Opulence - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOG6_3Qt2Dgv Crown of Sorrow Invitation]''</ref> Fighting past Hive rituals and traversing deep into Calus's treasure vaults, the Guardians confronted Gahlran. Despite the Crown of Sorrow granting Gahlran great powers, the Guardians succeeded in putting the Sorrow-Bearer out of his madness and cleansing the Leviathan of the Hive.<ref>'''Bungie (2019/6/4)''', ''Destiny 2: Season of Opulence - [[Crown of Sorrow (raid)|Crown of Sorrow]]''</ref>. Further, the Guardians managed to cleanse the Crown of Sorrow for their own use.{{Citation needed}} For their achievements in thwarting the Witch Queen's scheme against him and cleansing his ship of the Hive, Calus rewarded the Guardians and named them one of his Shadows.{{Citation needed}}

Following Oryx's death and Guardians' continuous attacks, the Hidden Swarm on the Moon became restless. The fact that the Taken King's killer had not assumed his mantle and so the line of succession had been severed weighted heavy on them, shaking their faith in the Sword Logic. They began entertaining heretical ideas, including even resurrecting Oryx by challenging his legacy.<ref name="Endure">'''Bungie (2019/9/16)''', ''Weblore:[[Weblore:Shadowkeep|Shadowkeep]] - [[Weblore:Shadowkeep#Endure|Endure]]''</ref>

The Daughters of Crota - [[Hashladûn, Daughter of Crota|Hashladûn]], [[Besurith, Daughter of Crota|Besurith]], [[Kinox]] and [[Voshyr]] - attempted to take control over the brood, but their claim on power was feeble and the Hive of the Hellmouth resorted to ritual gladiatorial fights to determine a worthy successor to the Osmium Throne. A champion of these fights was the Knight [[Zulmak, Instrument of Torment|Zulmak]].<ref name="Inquisition III">'''Bungie (2019/10/1)''',''Destiny 2: Shadowkeep - Lore:[[Lore:Inquisition of the Damned|Inquisition of the Damned]], [[Lore:Inquisition of the Damned#III: Ritualistic Circle Pit|III: Ritualistic Circle Pit]]''</ref>

Meanwhile, some of the lower-rank members of the Hidden Swarm had grown to believe the Daughters and the court at large were spoiled, weak and unable to lead the brood in these troubling times.<ref name="Inquisition I.II">'''Bungie (2019/10/1)''', ''Destiny 2: Shadowkeep - Lore:Inquisition of the Damned, [[Lore:Inquisition of the Damned#I.II: Of Tattered Blood and Broken Bone|I.II: Of Tattered Blood and Broken Bone]]''</ref> As such, three siblings - Wizard [[Malkanth, the Deceiver|Malkanth]], Knight [[Akrazul, the Severed|Akrazul]], and Deathsinger [[Ir Airâm, Deathsinger|Azavath]] - conspired to engage in a heretical ritual, the [[Inquisition of Self]], in order to disrupt the power structure in the Hellmouth, murder the court, and hopefully lead the Swarm towards a better future.<ref name="Inquisition V">'''Bungie (2019/10/1)''', ''Destiny 2: Shadowkeep - Lore:Inquisition of the Damned, [[Lore:Inquisition_of_the_Damned#V: A Sinister Plot|V: A Sinister Plot]]''</ref> Unbeknownst to them, their scheme was inspired and supported by the Witch Queen Savathûn, who also believed that Oryx's bloodline had run its course and a radical change was due for the Hive. Though the siblings' plan ultimately failed, it allowed Savathûn to "gift" the Daughters of Crota a new champion - the resurrected Zulmak - and a powerful Deathsinger Ir Airâm -  Azavath's essence in her sister's body.<ref>'''Bungie (2019/10/29)''',''Destiny 2: Shadowkeep - Lore:Inquisition of the Damned, [[Lore:Inquisition of the Damned#XI.X: Apocrypha|XI.X: Apocrypha]]''</ref>

{{Quote|I warned of a storm. Can't you hear the thunder?|Eris Morn<ref name="Reunion">'''Bungie (2019/9/16)''', ''Weblore:Shadowkeep - [[Weblore:Shadowkeep#Reunion|Reunion]]''</ref>}}

Following the recent dealings with Calus and the Drifter, the Guardians would return to Luna] after hearing reports of renewed Hive aggression and of a new fortress that was constructed near the Hellmouth, the [[Scarlet Keep]]. As the Guardian worked with Vanguard forces to establish a beachhead and drive the Hive back, they soon encountered the Scarlet Keep and strange enemies emanating dark essence. The Guardian managed to enter the keep and proceeded further beneath Luna's surface. But near the bottom, they found a massive black Pyramid structure that seemed to be negatively affecting the Guardian's Ghost. Before they could investigate further, a dark aura prevented them from getting close and took the form of Crota to attack the Guardian, much to their Ghost's surprise. Though the Guardian put up a fight, they proved unable to actually harm the phantom of Crota. Just when they were about to be overwhelmed as new forms resembling Ghaul and [[Fikrul]] emerged, Eris Morn saved them by teleporting them to safety with a spell. She woud then explain to them the nature of the Scarlet Keep and that the Pyramid could be in fact a remnant of the Darkness that had brought the Collapse.<ref>'''Bungie (2019/10/1)''', ''Destiny 2: Shadowkeep - [[A Mysterious Disturbance]]''</ref> She also believed the "[[Nightmare]]s" the Guardians had faced were extensions of the Pyramid meant to torment and distract them.<ref>'''Bungie (2019/10/1)''', ''Destiny 2: Shadowkeep - Lore:[[Lore:Letters from Eris|Letters from Eris]], [[Lore:Letters from Eris#Regarding the Spread of Nightmares|Regarding the Spread of Nightmares]]''</ref>

With Eris Morn finally gaining the Vanguard's full support, the Guardian made efforts to find a way to combat the Nightmares and their influence. Believing that the Hive of the resurgent [[Hidden Swarm]] had the means, as the Scarlet Keep being near the Pyramid couldn't be a coincidence, Eris had the Guardians breach the Keep to look for any answers or Hive knowledge. At the Keep's entrance, the Guardian encountered its architect, Hashladûn. Originally thought dead after Crota's fall, Hashladûn had instead taken advantage of the Pyramid's power to exact her revenge against the Guardians for ravaging her lineage. Eris had the Guardians give chase as Hashladûn retreated into the stronghold, ascending the Scarlet Keep and luring them to follow her to the top of the [[Tower of Woe]]. Fortunately, the Guardian overcame her power and managed to slay her. From her death, the Guardian and Eris learned that Hashladûn had managed to harness power to resist the Nightmare's influence using a forbidden piece of Hive knowledge, the [[Cryptoglyph]], found at the very bottom of the Hellmouth, the [[Catacombs]].<ref>'''Bungie (2019/10/1)''', ''Destiny 2: Shadowkeep - [[The Scarlet Keep]]''</ref>

Eris resolved that acquiring the Cryptoglyph was necessary to create a set of armor cabale of protecting the Guardian against the Nightmares and allowing them to enter the Pyramid. As such, she asked them to venture into the darkness of the Hellmouth once more. The Guardian entered the Hive stronghold, but as they ventured deeper, they lost contact with Eris. They finally reached the Catacombs and acquired the Cryptoglyph after slaying its keeper, Besurith. However, with Eris unable to extract them, the Guardian had to race back to the surface with the enraged Hive and Nightmares in hot pursuit. Despite the danger, they successfully escaped alive.<ref>'''Bungie (2019/10/1)''', ''Destiny 2: Shadowkeep - [[In the Deep]]''</ref> Having brought the Cryptoglyph to Eris, they were then instructed to extract Nightmare essence that had taken form over the system so she could create the armor necessary to resist and battle the Nightmares guarding the Pyramid.{{Citation needed}} The Guardians managed to acquire and fuel the essence after slaying the Nightmares of [[Skolas]] (who embodied Pride),<ref>'''Bungie (2019/10/1)''', ''Destiny 2: Shadowkeep - [[Nightmare Hunt: Pride]]''</ref> [[Taniks]] (who embodied Isolation),<ref>'''Bungie (2019/10/1)''', ''Destiny 2: Shadowkeep - [[Nightmare Hunt: Isolation]]''</ref> and [[Phogoth]] (who embodied Fear).<ref>'''Bungie (2019/10/1)''', ''Destiny 2: [[Shadowkeep]] - [[Nightmare Hunt: Fear]]''</ref> With their essence, Eris was successful in creating the necessary armor.

With the armor acquired and the Vanguard's approval, the Guardian ventured back through the Scarlet Keep and descended towards the Pyramid. As they neared, however, their Ghost began to feel something trying to pierce them, and the Pyramid itself opened and drew them in. With their Ghost seemingly possessed by the Darkness, it taunted the Guardian on the Light's failures and weaknesses, as they battled with Crota, Ghaul, and Fikrul once more. Despite the Darkness's taunts, they successfully defeated the Nightmares of their greatest foes. With the Darkness seemingly welcoming them, the Guardian acquired a strange, unknown artifact from the Pyramid's center and encountered a mirror projection of themselves, who addressed itself as not as their friend or their enemy but their "''Salvation''".<ref>'''Bungie (2019/10/1)''', ''Destiny 2: Shadowkeep - [[Beyond (mission)|Beyond]]''</ref>

{{Quote|Don't bother guessing the Taken's intentions. Ask instead what is sought by the hand that directs them.|Eris Morn<ref name="TFC">'''Bungie (2019/10/1)''', ''Destiny 2: Shadowkeep - [[The Festering Core]]''</ref>

Some time later, the Guardians returned to the Scarlet Keep to investigate reports of strange and disturbing activity surrounding the Hidden Swarm's fortress, rituals that had been dubbed [[Altars of Sorrow]].{{Citation needed}} The Hidden Swarm began sacrificing Nightmares into an Ascendant Crystal to harvest their phantasmal essence. Slowly, the Guardians managed to delay these Hive rituals under Eris Morn's guidance,<ref>'''Bungie (2019/10/29)''', ''Destiny 2: Shadowkeep - [[Altars of Sorrow]]''</ref> but noticed that the center point of these rituals lay beneath the Scarlet Keep.{{Citation needed}}

Traversing deep into the Keep, the Guardians unlocked passages to new forbidden areas, encountering strange yet powerful Hive, Disciples of the Broken Blade. After unlocking each gate and traveling deeper into the Pit, the Guardians encountered products of Hashladûn and her sisters' wicked schemes.<ref name="PoH">'''Bungie (2019/10/29)''', ''Destiny 2: Shadowkeep - [[Pit of Heresy]]''</ref> Upon further investigation, the Guardians learned that Hashladûn and her sisters had used the pits beneath the Scarlet Keep to further their magical experimentation and find a possible solution to use the Pyramid's power to create a Nightmare of Oryx. Though such a plot directly violated the Sword Logic, the Daughters of Crota believed such a breach of the Hive's sacred creed was necessary, as the Taken King's killers, the Guardians, had never assumed his place. They also argued that challenging his philosophy by engaging in this heresy was in line with the Logic's teachings, as if his legacy had been true, it would have come unto them and defeat their blasphemy, and if it had been false, then their deed could not have been blasphemy.<ref name="Endure"/>

The Daughters of Crota were unable to perform such a feat, as Hive minds could not conjure up Nightmares. Instead, Kinox proposed to use the Nightmare essence and raise a champion of their own: Zulmak, Instrument of Torment, by creating a Nightmare hybrid abomination to serve as their puppet.<ref name="Apostate">'''Bungie (2019/10/1)''', ''Destiny 2: Shadowkeep - Item Description: [[Apostate#Lore|Apostate]]''</ref><ref name="Blasphemer">'''Bungie (2019/10/1)''', ''Destiny 2: Shadowkeep - Item Description: [[Blasphemer#Lore|Blasphemer]]''</ref><ref name="Heretic">'''Bungie (2019/10/1)''', ''Destiny 2: Shadowkeep - Item Description: [[Heretic#Lore|Heretic]]''</ref>

Following the fall of the [[The Almighty|Almighty]], the Vanguard confirmed the Darkness' arrival, with Pyramids touching down on various worlds and even disabling Rasputin. On Io, Eris Morn heeded the call of a Pyramid to learn what she could. Her attempts to hear the Darkness would be disrupted by Savathûn, who jammed the Pyramid's broadcasts and sent Hive and Taken to intervene. Eris was slowly overwhelmed, but the Guardian, who was following her on Zavala's orders, was able to save Eris from the Witch-Queen's servants. Though injured, Eris overcame the Witch Queen's power as she found a tree of Silver Wings, with a seed of dark power at its base. After returning to the Last City, the Vanguard Commander pleaded with her not to go any further, but Eris left anyway, determined to figure out what Savathûn and the Darkness wanted.<ref>'''Bungie (2020/6/9)''', ''Destiny 2: [[Season of Arrivals]] - [[A Shadow Overhead]]''</ref> She returned to Io, only to find it swarmed with Savathûn's forces. Eris called on the Guardians to take back the tree, and when they succeeded, she used the [[Seed of Silver Wings]] to receive and interpret the Pyramid's broadcasts.<ref name="Interference">'''Bungie (2020/6/9)''', ''Destiny 2: [[Season of Arrivals]] - [[Interference]]''</ref>  

During their trek into the Court of Savathûn, the Guardian learns that Oryx's disowned son, Nokris, had returned and was now in service to his aunt and her goals. It was soon discovered that the former Herald of Xol had been abandoned by his god after finding more worth in the Worm God's killers and, looking for a new purpose, used trickery to enter the Ascendant Realm, encountering the Witch Queen doing so. Both wishing to be free from the Darkness, Nokris agreed to a bargain with his scheming aunt. In exchange for teaching his aunt the secrets of Necromancy and interfering with the Pyramid's attempts to communicate with the Guardians, Nokris would take part in Savathûn's plans and learn the power to Take from the "[[Quria, Blade Transform|Dreaming Mind]]".<ref>'''Bungie (2020/6/10)''', ''Weblore:[[Weblore:Season of Arrivals|Season of Arrivals]] - [[Weblore:Season of Arrivals#False Idols|False Idols]]''</ref>

{{Quote|The Hive is fractured, shattered, turned on itself. The Black Fleet intends to punish Savathûn for interfering with its efforts to communicate with us. No one knows where the Witch Queen is, not even her own court. And now Xivu Arath is using this opportunity to consolidate her power.|Osiris<ref name="Transmissions">'''Bungie (2020/11/10)''', ''Destiny 2: [[Season of the Hunt]] - [[Vanguard Transmissions]]''</ref>}}

Meanwhile, Guardians of new and old Light alike would investigate the appearance of the Hive wizard [[Navôta, Eir Spawn]], who had taken over the old Hive nest in the [[Cosmodrome]] after Omnigul's death.<ref name="Disgraced">'''Bungie (2020/11/10)''', ''Destiny 2: [[Beyond Light]] - [[The Disgraced]]''</ref> After killing Guardians [[Caster-3]] and [[Maeve]],<ref>'''Bungie (2020/11/10)''', ''Destiny 2: [[New Light]] - [[Schism]]''</ref> Navôta would attempt to finish their remaining member [[Shaw Han]] only to be driven off by a newly-Risen Guardian.<ref>'''Bungie (2020/11/10)''', ''Destiny 2: New Light - [[Vendetta]]''</ref> With her position threatened by brood [[Ak-Baral, Rival of Navôta|rival]]s suspicious of her weakness, the disgraced Navôta was forced to make a final confrontation with the Guardians at the [[Terrestrial Complex|Terrestrial]] and [[Jovian Complex]]es. Despite attempting to rally the brood in a trap, she was defeated and the Hive in the Cosmodrome were left scattered and deprived of leadership.<ref name="Disgraced"/>

In an audacious and "suicidal" move, as described by [[Sagira]], Osiris descended upon the gathering as the mighty Phoenix he was and began to slaughter the gathering. In the year since the events of Shadowkeep, Voshyr and Kinox had both heirs and sons/daughters of their own - more nobles to Oryx's legacy. These same offspring would be with their respective mothers in their final moments. Voshyr and her two daughters [[Yishra]] and [[Ayriax]] were the first to perish before they could even finish their incantation - incinerated by Osiris' [[Daybreak]]. Kinox was soon to be next as she attempted to flee into the crevices of Luna with her son [[Ulg'Urin]] and his cohort of Knights raising shields to defend her only to perish from a [[Nova Bomb]], but despite his efforts, Kinox also perished in the blast. The remaining lesser nobles were killed in the slaughter, which strengthened Xivu Arath thanks to the violence committed by the Warlock. Osiris would be stripped of his supers when the visage and will of Xivu Arath emanating from the large Cryptolith taunted him. Osiris was pinned, and around him were cleaved Runes in the stone by the High Celebrant. In a stunning and tragic act, Sagira broke through the oppressive force Xivu projected that was slowly killing Osiris and sacrificed herself - destroying the Cryptolith and projection, saving Osiris but leaving him Ghostless. The light in the place of Sagira's sacrifice remained for days.<ref name="Immolant2">'''Bungie (2020/11/16)''', ''Weblore:[[Weblore:Season of the Hunt|Season of the Hunt]] - [[Weblore:Season of the Hunt#Immolant Pt. 2|Immolant Pt. 2]]''</ref>

Following the Black Fleet's arrival, Nokris' fall, and various worlds of the Sol System going dark, the Guardians discover a rise of corrupted Hive activity within the Tangled Shore and the Dreaming City of the Reef. They soon learn that the Hive's God of War, Xivu Arath, has begun to marshal her influence upon the Sol system in the absence of her excommunicated sister, using her [[Cryptolith]]s to achieve this.<ref name="Immolant2"/> These organic Hive structures burrowed into the material plane while rooting themselves in the Ascendant Realm, calling out to nearby beings to be transformed into [[Wrathborn]].{{Citation needed}} These Cryptoliths started corrupting Eliksni but quickly spread to Hive and Cabal. Commanded and aided in their spread by the [[High Celebrant of Xivu Arath|High Celebrant]], they would be the Wrathborn's command and Xivu Arath's foothold in the system. To combat this threat, the Guardians agree to a partnership with the Spider and to work with a mysterious Lightborn called the Crow, who is really Uldren Sov revived as a Guardian.<ref>'''Bungie (2020/11/10)''', ''Destiny 2: Season of the Hunt - [[Trail of the Hunted]]''</ref> In the ensuing weeks Wrathborn of [[House of Spider]], [[House of Dusk]], and the broods of the Hive would be hunted down.<ref>'''Bungie (2020/11/10)''', ''Destiny 2: Season of the Hunt - [[Wrathborn Hunts]]''</ref> As for the corrupted Red Legion, none have been encountered by the Guardian, which concerned Crow.{{Citation needed}}

Roughly eight weeks following its initial escape, the Crow was able to locate the Celebrant hiding within the Dreaming City thanks to the Guardian's numerous Wrathborn hunts. After upgrading the [[Cryptolith Lure]], the Guardian and Crow made their way to the Cryptolith within [[Harbinger's Seclude]] to summon the High Celebrant and end it once and for all. As the Guardian was able to activate the Cryptolith, the Crow was able to tag it to make sure it wouldn't escape from them again. The Celebrant would lead them through a wild goose chase throughout the Harbinger's Seclude and the Ascendant Plane while summoning both Fallen and Hive Wrathborn to delay both Guardians. However, it would succeed in escaping back into the Ascendant Realm and closing the portal behind it, leaving Crow inside to deal with him. While the Guardian was seemingly stuck in a hard place, they used what remained of the Cryptolith to forcefully open up one of the preexisting rifts within the Dreaming City to track down the Celebrant. During the battle, the Celebrant contains the Guardian within a [[Hive Trap]] and opens up another rift to make its escape, only for the Crow to intervene by destroying the portal from the other side. While the Knight was staggered from the destruction of its only exit, kneeling on the floor, the Guardian finishes the Celebrant off and ends its reign of terror once and for all.<ref>'''Bungie (2020/11/10)''', ''Destiny 2: Season of the Hunt - [[Coup de Grâce]]''</ref>

Sometime before the Black Fleet's appearance in the Solar System, the Hive would lay waste to the Cabal after Savathûn managed to corrupt one of their high-profile leaders, [[Umun'arath]], into worshiping the Hive. As a "gift" to her sister Xivu Arath, Savathûn had Umun'arath perform a ritual that in the event of her death, a portal would open, allowing the Hive to directly invade the Cabal homeworld of [[Torobatl]]. The plan came to fruition when Uman'arath was killed by her former student, [[Empress Caiatl]], allowing the full force of Xivu Arath's armies to invade.<ref name="New Gods">'''Bungie (2021/2/9)''', ''Destiny 2: [[Season of the Chosen]] - Lore:[[Lore:Empress|Empress]], [[Lore:Empress#CHAPTER 5: NEW GODS|CHAPTER 5: NEW GODS]]''</ref> Despite the Cabal's best efforts, the Hive of Xivu Arath slaughtered their people and destroyed much of their homeworld, forcing Empress Caiatl to order an evacuation of their homeworld and regroup to the Solar System, the home of those who have slain Hive gods before: the Guardians of the Last City.<ref name="Battle Song">'''Bungie (2021/2/9)''', ''Destiny 2: Season of the Chosen - Lore:Empress, [[Lore:Empress#CHAPTER 6: BATTLE SONG|CHAPTER 6: BATTLE SONG]]''</ref><ref>'''Bungie (2021/2/9)''', ''Destiny 2: Season of the Chosen - Lore:Empress, [[Lore:Empress#CHAPTER 8: EMPRESS|CHAPTER 8: EMPRESS]]''</ref>

Arriving in the Sol System and explaining her people's plight to Zavala and Osiris, Empress Caiatl beseeched humanity to unite with her empire to combat the Darkness and the Hive but on the condition that the Guardians kneel before her. Expectedly, the Guardians are quick to refuse and instead partake in a combat rite to prove their strength to the Cabal. Months of battle wore down Caiatl's chosen forces, leading the two groups to forge an armistice.<ref>'''Bungie (2021/2/9)''', ''Destiny 2: Season of the Chosen''</ref>

Following the conflicts with the Wrathborn, the Fallen [[House of Salvation]] and the Cabal, the Guardians discover their home of the Last City plagued by an [[Endless Night]] which the Vanguard surmise to be the Vex's doing. Requiring aid from the one being who could pierce into the Vex's domain, the Guardians locate [[Mithrax]] of the [[House of Light]]. The Light Kell would agree to aid the Guardians in combating the Endless Night after they helped him save his people from the Vex. To further ensure the safety of Mithrax's people, Ikora Rey offered Mithrax and his House of Light sanctuary within the Last City as they worked together, who gratefully accepted.<ref>'''Bungie (2021/5/11)''', ''Destiny 2: [[Season of the Splicer]] - [[The Lost Splicer]]''</ref> However, the decision to bring Eliksni into the Last City sparked tension within some of the citizens and the Factions. Regardless of this tension, the Guardians work well with Mithrax in combating the Vex but after gaining enough data, the [[Sacred Splicer]] discovers the source of the Endless Night: Quria, the Dreaming Mind and servant of Savathûn. With Savathûn's role in the Endless Night revealed, the Vanguard goes through all knowledge regarding her, hoping to find a clue through her layers of lies, while the Guardians work on pinpointing Quria's position.{{Citation needed}}

After many months of combating the Vex, gathering data, and handling the tense situation between the Factions and the House of Light, the Guardians are successful in locating Quria, allowing them to launch a direct assault on the Dreaming Mind. Entering into the Vex domain once more, only this time they discover it plagued with Taken corruption, the Guardians confront Quria. Despite the Dreaming Mind's simulation and Taken powers, the Guardians are successful in destroying Quria, robing the Witch Queen of one of her most powerful and useful servants.<ref>'''Bungie (2021/5/11)''', ''Destiny 2: Season of the Splicer - [[Expunge: Delphi]]''</ref> Quria's destruction would slowly lift the Endless Night over the Last City but the situation with the House of Light comes to a head when [[Lakshmi-2]] headed a conspiracy with the other Factions to oust the Vanguard leadership and forcibly expel the Eliksni from the Last City using a Vex portal, apparently aided by Osiris himself. However, to her shock, the Vex portal she utilizes, breaks from her control, killing Lakshmi and allowing Vex to enter into the Last City.<ref>'''Bungie (2021/5/11)''', ''Destiny 2: Season of the Splicer - [[H.E.L.M.]] Radio Message: [[H.E.L.M.#tabsection-9-2|Lakshmi's final broadcast]]''</ref> With the Last City and House of Light threatened, the Guardians managed to undo Lakshmi's portal and destroy the Vex, saving the House of Light.<ref>'''Bungie (2021/5/11)''', ''Destiny 2: Season of the Splicer - [[Override: Last City]]''</ref> However, during the chaos, Osiris had vanished, leading many to suspect he was involved as Lakshmi spoke. Refusing to believe her mentor was responsible, Ikora Rey has the Guardian conduct a search for Osiris.{{Citation needed}}

As the Guardians search for Osiris, they find a lead that takes them to the Dreaming City within the Reef. They are joined by [[Saint-14]] and [[Crow]] who are looking for Osiris and want answers from him as well. They managed to traverse the Ascendant Realm-wracked Dreaming City and find Osiris conversing with Mara Sov herself. However, to the three Lightbearers' shock and horror, the "Osiris" they have been conversing with for a while had not been Osiris at all but Savathûn, the Witch Queen herself but Mara Sov encases her within a crystalline prison. The Hive goddess revealed that she had taken Osiris's form not long after Osiris had become Lightless, saving him from Xivu Arath, but also used his form to hide from her sister, who now hunts Savathûn at the behest of another. From there, she struck a bargain with the Awoken Queen: in exchange for releasing Osiris and ending the Taken Curse over the Dreaming City, Mara Sov would excise her worm.<ref>'''Bungie (2021/8/24)''', ''Destiny 2: [[Season of the Lost]] - [[Cocoon]]''</ref>

To excise Savathûn's worm, Mara Sov required her Techeun Coven, who had become lost in the Ascendant Plane as they traveled the realm before being cornered by Xivu Arath.<ref>'''Bungie (2021/8/24)''', ''Destiny 2: Season of the Lost - [[Shattered Realm: Forest of Echoes]]''</ref>

Hive under the command of Xivu Arath would infest the Ruins of Wrath in the Shattered Realm and seek to disrupt the Guardian from rescuing a lost Techeun, but would be defeated.<ref>'''Bungie (2021/8/24)''', ''Destiny 2: Season of the Lost - [[Shattered Realm: Ruins of Wrath]]''</ref> [[Kelgorath, Risen from Bones]] would also seek to claim [[Ager's Scepter|an awoken relic]] for Xivu Arath but would be slain by the Guardian.<ref>'''Bungie (2021/8/24)''', ''Destiny 2: Season of the Lost - [[A Hollow Coronation]]''</ref> The Hive, Taken and Scorn would continue to cooperate to poison the Ley Lines.

Ultimately, after many long months of locating the last of the Queen's Techeuns, restoring the [[Ley Lines]] and holding the line against Xivu Arath's Horde, Mara Sov had what she needed to complete her preparations for the ritual. Gathering her Corsairs, anticipating that the God of War will stop at nothing to stop the ritual, and having the Guardian and Saint-14 provide further protection, Mara Sov begins the ritual to excise Savathûn's worm. Just as expected, Xivu Arath's Hive and Taken forces assault the ritual, but despite their tenacity, they failed to breach the Guardian's defenses. Growing desperate, Xivu Arath summons her champion, Kelgorath, once more but despite his power and use of the Taken, the God of War failed in her attempt, allowing Mara Sov to finish the ritual. Now without her worm, Mara began to release the Witch Queen from her crystal prison to finally achieve justice for her part in Uldren's corruption and death. However, to the Awoken Queen's dismay, Savathûn was already one step ahead. In one of her hidden contingencies, she planted a spell within her prison as it originally formed around her, whereupon its shattering, she would be able to spirit away to safety. Nonetheless, Savathûn kept her end of the bargain, safely returning the real Osiris to the Guardian.<ref>'''Bungie (2021/8/24)''', ''Destiny 2: Season of the Lost - [[Exorcism]]''</ref>

Sometime later, Mars suddenly reappeared, albeit exhibiting temporal distortions, which had the Vanguard have Guardian fireteams deployed to survey the planet. They discovered several Darkness-related structures, including the Enclave, and a forge-like device called the Relic within. Research teams led by the Hidden began studying both the structures and the temporal anomalies and documenting their findings. In addition, [[Cabal]] forces began deploying across the planet, reclaiming old territory and setting up anti-air defenses. This was in response to Savathûn's flagship decloaking over the Martian Cradle and engaging Cabal forces. The Guardian, however, managed to board the flagship and reported a terrifying finding; Hive soldiers wielding the Light with some even having their own Ghosts. These Light-imbued Hive would become known as the [[Lucent Brood]]. Horrified to see the Hive, one of humanity's greatest enemies, wielding the Light, the Guardians managed to reenter [[Savathûn's Throne World]] to search how the Witch Queen managed to steal the Light but encounter a renegade Hive Ghost named [[Fynch]], who explains that Savathûn tricked several Guardianless Ghosts to raise her Hive as Lightbearers, claiming they were more deserving of the Light than humanity. Fynch, however, began to have doubts about Savathûn's intentions, leading him to hide out and ultimately refuse to revive the Hive Knight he originally raised.<ref>'''Bungie (2022/2/22)''', ''Destiny 2: The Witch Queen - [[The Arrival]]''</ref><ref>'''Bungie (2022/2/22)''', ''Destiny 2: The Witch Queen - [[The Investigation]]''</ref>

Despite being suspicious, the Guardians listen to Fynch, who directs them to a temple Savathûn had made in honor of her sister, Xivu Arath, the [[Temple of the Wrathful]], and what they found inside was, to their surprise, Sagira's shell, collected by Savathûn after her light was taken by Xivu Arath. Traversing the dark temple and battling organized Scorn forces, the Guardians were able to retrieve Sagira but, in doing so, they hear Savathûn's voice telling them of a being called "the Witness".<ref>'''Bungie (2022/2/22)''', ''Destiny 2: The Witch Queen - [[The Ghosts]]''</ref> Uncertain of what the Witness is, the Guardians learn they heard was a memory of Savathûn and to fully see the memory, they delve deeper into the Throne World, passing various Darkness-related illusions, before entering a portal that leads them to a strange area called the [[Altar of Reflection]]. There, placing Sagira's shell at the altar, the Guardian see Savathûn's memory where she impersonated Osiris and from his friends, learned secrets of the Light. Believing that those secrets involve how the Witch Queen stole the Light, Ikora has the Guardian continue working with Fynch in discerning more from Savathûn's memory.<ref>'''Bungie (2022/2/22)''', ''Destiny 2: The Witch Queen - [[The Mirror]]''</ref> However, to fully do so, Ikora allowed the Guardian to enter the Pyramid on [[Europa]] to directly commune with the Darkness, heightening their [[Deepsight]] abilities to see through the illusions in Savathûn's Throne World.<ref>'''Bungie (2022/2/22)''', ''Destiny 2: The Witch Queen - [[The Communion]]''</ref>

Returning to Fynch, the Hive Ghost informs them of another temple that Savathûn had made in honor of her brother, Oryx, the [[Temple of the Navigator]], claiming there is a secret within. The Guardians enter the Temple and battle with to their surprise, Alak-Hul, now raised as a Lightbearer called the Lightblade. Though the Guardian managed to slay Alak-Hul, his Ghost managed to escape before they could destroy it. Nonetheless, at the center of the Temple, the Guardian found a piece of the Tablets of Ruin, the artifact that taught Oryx how to Take.<ref>'''Bungie (2022/2/22)''', ''Destiny 2: The Witch Queen - [[The Lightblade]]''</ref> Bringing the tablet piece to the Altar of Reflection, they see Savathûn's memory where she refused to become the Taken Queen but learn to their shock, that Savathûn intends to bring the Traveler to her Throne World and seal it away, as a way to "protect" it from the Witness.<ref>'''Bungie (2022/2/22)''', ''Destiny 2: The Witch Queen - [[Memories of Ruin]]''</ref> However, such an act would cut the Guardians off from the Light and leave the Last City vulnerable.{{Citation needed}}

Admitting that she anticipated this and needing every advantage they can get before the Witch Queen enacts her plan, Ikora has the Guardian follow another tip from Fynch, believing that there is another important artifact hidden within Savathûn's Throne World. Fynch informs the Guardian that deep beneath the tunnels of the [[Quagmire]] lies a temple dedicated to Sathona, the Witch Queen's former identity before becoming a Hive God, and within lies an artifact next to a statue of Sathona. Despite heavily entrenched Scorn forces and many illusionary securities impeding them, the Guardian manages to locate the [[Temple of the Cunning]] and enter it. There, they find the statue of Sathona and after slaying the Scorn Warden and moving past Savathûn's illusionary tricks, they collect a separate piece of the statue: a calcified Worm Familiar, the same one Sathona had kept by her side that whispered to her about Fundament's end. However, taking the familiar activates a powerful illusion of an Ahamkara and a suffocating haze that nearly kills the Guardian.<ref>'''Bungie (2022/2/22)''', ''Destiny 2: The Witch Queen - [[The Cunning]]''</ref> Despite this, the Guardian manages to escape with the Worm Familiar and attempts to take the familiar to the Altar of Reflection but the portal entrance rejects them, forcing Ikora to call upon Eris Morn for guidance.  

Eris tells them that from a trusted source, Mara Sov, a memento from Savathûn before her conversion to the Light is located deep in her fortress, a possible answer to how the Witch Queen gained of the Light. Guiding them to the Apothecary Wing of the Fortress, Eris claims that the item is a crystal that was once a part of Savathûn's prison during her time with the Awoken. Using their gift to pierce through illusions, the Guardian is able to traverse Savathûn's fortress and breach the [[Apothecary]], the grounds from which the Lucent Brood conduct their wretched experiments with the Light. Within the Apothecary, the Guardian search for the Crystal but encounter the keeper of the Apothecary, [[Savathûn's Right Hand]], a Lightbearer Wizard. Chasing the wizard throughout the Apothecary, the Guardian manages to corner the wizard at the crystal's location and slay her.<ref>'''Bungie (2022/2/22)''', ''Destiny 2: The Witch Queen - [[The Last Chance]]''</ref> Grabbing the crystal allows the Guardian to hear a piece of Savathûn's memory but to fully see the memory, they return to the Altar of Reflection. Bringing the crystal to the altar, the Guardians witness that after Savathûn escaped from her crystal prison in the Reef, she came to Earth, to a mountain range overlooking the Traveler and the Last City. There, she came to the Traveler as a "supplicant" but at that point, the wounds from her escape became too much and died. However, to their shock and horror, the Traveler willingly has a Ghost, [[Immaru]], revive Savathûn as a Lightbearer the same way as a Guardian.<ref>'''Bungie (2022/2/22)''', ''Destiny 2: The Witch Queen - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlzQnXcUxqI&t=351 To be Chosen]''</ref> At the memory's end, Savathûn herself enters and "thanks" the Guardian for helping her remember her memories, proving that the Witch Queen never stole the Light but was ''granted'' it. Before Savathûn could attack the Guardian, they managed to escape and report back to the Last City, telling the Vanguard of the awful truth they had witnessed.<ref>'''Bungie (2022/2/22)''', ''Destiny 2: The Witch Queen - [https://youtu.be/jlzQnXcUxqI?t=504 Remembering]''</ref>

The Vanguard is left completely shocked and rattled to the core that the Traveler would raise Savathûn, one of humanity's most devious adversaries, and grant her the Light. Zavala himself is left incredulous and in near denial but Eris Morn points out the Traveler's behavior of uplifting countless civilizations and then abandoning them in the [[Books of Sorrow]]. Zavala attempts to denounce this as mere Hive propaganda but Eris further details that the Fallen themselves tell a similar story, the moment the Witness and its Black Fleet arrived, the Traveler left, leaving them to the [[Whirlwind]], and eventually making it's way to the Sol System. However, Zavala angrily reminds everyone present that when the Black Fleet arrived in the Sol System, the Traveler sacrificed itself to save humanity. Yet, the Vanguard Commander cannot comprehend that after everything the Hive had done, the Traveler would give Savathûn the Light. Ikora merely states that it doesn't matter, regardless of the Traveler's reasons, only concerned that if the Witch Queen takes the Traveler and seals it away, humanity would lose any hope of surviving the Witness.<ref>'''Bungie (2022/2/22)''', ''Destiny 2: The Witch Queen - [https://youtu.be/jlzQnXcUxqI?t=579 Council]''</ref>

Theorizing that the calcified Worm Familiar found in Savathûn's temple may hold the key to stopping the Witch Queen, Ikora takes the Worm to the Enclave, believing that the Relic within may be able to slice into its past. Ikora, after a struggle, saw into a memory of the Worm Familiar and discovers a shocking revelation: the Worm Familiar whispered that a cataclysm would come and destroy their home of Fundament but in truth, it was the Witness who spoke and it lied to Sathona. There was no cataclysm coming. The Hive were lied to. The Witness was aware that the Krill would soon encounter the Traveler and so, to claim them first, the Witness deceived Sathona into guiding her siblings into the Deep, thereby leading them to release the Worm Gods and forge the pact that would create the Hive species and rebirthing Sathona and her siblings into the Hive Gods, Oryx, Xivu Arath and Savathûn.<ref>'''Bungie (2022/2/22)''', ''Destiny 2: The Witch Queen - [https://youtu.be/jlzQnXcUxqI?t=746 Worm]''</ref>

Armed with this knowledge and with Savathûn's ritual already beginning, Ikora has the Guardian take the familiar so when they confront the Witch Queen, the truth would destabilize the Hive God of Lies, breaking her hold over the ritual. With no time to lose, the Guardian enters Savathûn's Throne World but finds that the Traveler is already within her domain, forcing the Guardian to fight through Hive and Scorn forces to reach the portal to the ritual's location. Fortunately, Ikora herself arrives to help open the way after the Guardian held off Hive reinforcements, allowing the Guardian to enter the [[Court of Thorns]] and fight their way up to the top of Savathûn's fortress. Despite Lightbearer Hive barring the way and the Witch Queen's taunts, the Guardian was able to reach Savathûn's inner chamber and the ritual's location, the [[Sanctum of the Brood Queen]]. Confronting Savathûn, the Guardian battles her and her Lightbearer Hive and manages to defeat her, but before they can destroy her ghost, she traps them in a thread-bound spell, allowing herself the time to revive and retreat to her ritual's center point. Pursuing, the Guardian battles with Savathûn once more but proves too powerful for them.<ref name="Ritual">'''Bungie (2022/2/22)''', ''Destiny 2: The Witch Queen - [[The Ritual]]''</ref>

Following Savathûn's death, Ikora knows that the Witness is likely returning to finish what it started and understanding they need the support, she summons the Guardian to the Enclave on Mars to meet with Mara Sov who requested them for a special task.<ref name="OQ&W">'''Bungie (2022/2/22)''', ''Destiny 2: The Witch Queen - [[Of Queen and Worms]]''</ref> At the Relic, the Guardian finds the Witch's Queen's dying worm, brought by Mara Sov who believes the worm holds secrets that they could learn from involving humanity's collapse. The Awoken Queen states she plans to give the worm strength and host to keep it alive, thereby allowing them to glean the secrets they require. Though the Guardian believes this to be a death sentence, Mara believes for her, it will be worth the risk.<ref>'''Bungie (2022/2/22)''', ''Destiny 2: The Witch Queen - [https://youtu.be/jlzQnXcUxqI?t=1086 With Mara]''</ref>

Knowing where they can find the means to breathe life into the worm, Mara Sov guides the Guardian to a city shrouded in Darkness near the caverns of Savathûn's Throne World. Taking the worm with them, the Guardian can locate the doorway to the Dark City, finding it to be similar to what they found inside a Pyramid. Mara Sov explains that a disciple of the Witness created the Dark City with the purpose to grow and facilitate beings similar to the worm itself and what they are looking for is akin to a Cryptoglyph, a Darkness incubator that will provide life for the worm. The Guardian locates the Dark City but finds only a resonance of a Cryptglyph that the Scorn gave their lives to protect. Mara Sov suspects that the resonance is but a trick and advises the Guardian to clear it, doing so opens a portal that allows the Guardian to traverse deeper into the Dark City and locate the Cryptoglyph, claiming it from the Scorn thieves. Traversing further, the Guardian can locate the Incubation Chamber they need, forcing them to confront the Scorn leader, [[Heimiks, Warden of the Harvest]]. Despite the Scorn's strength, the Guardian can clear them out, allowing them to access the incubator. Placing [[Savathûn's Worm]] at the altar, the Darkness energy breaths life into it, allowing it to speak for only a moment but its vitals remain low. Mara Sov believes this to be a partial success and knowing that there are more incubators hidden in the Throne World, she tasks the Guardian to keep the worm safe and refill the Cryptoglyph with energy, while she locates more incubators.<ref>'''Bungie (2022/2/22)''', ''Destiny 2: The Witch Queen - [[Birthplace of the Vile]]''</ref>

After finding enough incubators for Savathûn's Worm to regain its strength, Mara Sov demands the information they seek first before gaining its host. Just when it was about to speak of Savathûn's part in the Collapse, the Worm begins to writhe in pain, as a dormant curse the Witch Queen placed on it activated in the event Savathûn's Worm attempted to speak her secrets. Unsure of what to do, Mara Sov leaves but the Guardian quickly takes to the only other being they know who has information on Hive worms: Fynch. The renegade Hive ghost gives them a casing that temporarily prevents the worm from dying and now have to carry the Worm through springs of Hive energy to give it strength again. Despite Lucent Brood's forces attempting to stop them, the Guardian reaches through enough springs for the worm to stop dying. Mara Sov returns after this, apologizing, and directs the Guardian to fill the Cryptoglyph with Hive Light for the Worms ritual. Returning to the Apothecary, the Guardian manages to steal the Hive Light they need and reach the Temple of the Wrathful, where Mara Sov lays the groundwork for the ritual. Though the Guardian and their Ghost believe the Awoken Queen is about to become the Worm's new host, she instead turns the Worm into a weapon called [[Parasite]], much to the Worm's shock and dismay. Mara clarifies that she fulfilled her end of the bargain by providing a vessel for the worm, thereby allowing it to continue living, but its new host is now more like a prison, to which the Worm objects. The Scorn react to the Worm's presence in the ritual and, to prevent the worm from escaping, Mara Sov has the Guardian hold them off with their new weapon as she completes the ritual.<ref name="PP">'''Bungie (2022/2/22)''', ''Destiny 2: The Witch Queen - [[Parasitic Pilgrimage]]''</ref>

Despite the loss of many of their Lightbearers and Immaru's failure, the Lucent Brood would begin searching for relics of Nezarec for an unknown purpose, actively fighting the Old Crews, notorious pirates of Fallen legend who had rallied to the call of [[Eramis]], recently freed from her stasis prison. [[Alaaks, the Beast Tamer]]'s lair was ransacked by the Hive, and many of her crew slain but she managed to evade them.<ref>'''Bungie (2022/8/23)''', ''Destiny 2: [[Season of Plunder]] - [[Pirate Hideout: The Beast Tamer]]''</ref> [[Vrisk, the Coward]]'s lair would also be invaded by the Lucent Brood, where he and his crew were ultimately killed. The Guardians arrived not long after, also seeking the relic of Nezarec, and prevented [[Ei Arat, Trespasser|Ei Arat]] and his forces from claiming the relic.<ref>'''Bungie (2022/8/23)''', ''Destiny 2: Season of Plunder - [[Pirate Hideout: The Coward]]''</ref>

Though the Guardians were now aware of the Lucent Brood, they were one step ahead of them, and took over the asteroid where the final relic was located. In her haste and naivety, Eido secretly went ahead to collect the relic nonviolently and though she acquired the relic, the Hive spotted her and gave chase, forcing the Guardian and Mithrax to battle through the lair with all speed to save Eido. They ultimately slayed another Hive Lightbearer, [[Hiak'ar, Hoardseeker|Hiak'ar]]. The Lucent Hive cornered Eido but Eramis herself protected Eido as she safeguarded the relic. The Lucent Hive ultimately failed to collect the last relic as the last of their raid party was killed by Eramis.<ref>'''Bungie (2022/8/23)''', ''Destiny 2: Season of Plunder - [[Pirate Hideout: The Lucent Brood]]''</ref>

Following both Eramis's and the Lucent Brood's failure to secure the relics of Nezarec, the Hive War God would re-emerge once more to consolidate her power over the system and prepare for the Witness's invasion. To do so, Xivu Arath amassed her Wrathborn forces to seize control over the Warsat Network in the wake of Rasputin's continued incapacitation. In addition, Xivu Arath assumed control over most of what was left of the House of Salvation, corrupting its members or resurrecting them as Scorn, serving as a punishment for Eramis.<ref name="HB:M">'''Bungie (2022/12/6)''', ''Destiny 2: [[Season of the Seraph]] - [[Heist Battleground: Moon]]''</ref> Though Xivu Arath gained control over some of Rasputin's defense systems, the whole network remained out of reach, forcing the War God to target one of the Warmind's creators, Clovis Bray himself, trapped as a stationary AI within the Creation Labs on Europa. The Guardians, under the direction of Ana Bray and a newly awakened Osiris, also searched for Clovis Bray as he was needed to restore Rasputin's central core systems. Though the Guardians were delayed due to some of the Warmind's defenses being used against them, they rescued Clovis from being subjugated by Xivu Arath's forces.<ref>'''Bungie (2022/12/6)''', ''Destiny 2: Season of the Seraph - [[Hierarchy]]''</ref>

The Wrathborn infiltrated a Seraph Bunker on Luna, but were defeated by Guardians seeking to secure the submind [[Malahayati]].<ref name="HB:M"/> The Hive also infiltrated the Seraph Station launch facility, and after the Imperial Legion's failed siege, the Guardians infiltrated the facility and defeated [[Sumok, Ravager of Torobatl|Sumok]] and the Hive.<ref>'''Bungie (2022/12/6)''', ''Destiny 2: Season of the Seraph - [[Operation: Archimedes]]''</ref>

Since Mars had been inflicted with time wounds, the submind [[Charlemagne]] became accessible once more, and the facility became heavily infested with Hive and Taken forces alike. Kelgorath, risen to serve Xivu Arath once more and made into a [[Darkblade]], confronted the Guardians as they arrived to claim the submind. Yet, despite his strength and power, the Guardians slay Kelgorath again.<ref>'''Bungie (2022/12/6)''', ''Destiny 2: Season of the Seraph - [[Heist Battleground: Mars]]''</ref>

On Europa, beneath the Exoscience labs, the [[Yggdrasil Stack]] was infiltrated by [[Warwatcher, Eye of Xivu Arath]], a powerful Hive Shrieker and commander within Xivu Arath's Horde. Despite the Shrieker's power, the Guardians seeking to obtain a mainframe for the subminds, destroyed it, allowing them to gain access to the vault and in the process, temporarily blinding Xivu Arath on Europa.<ref>'''Bungie (2022/12/6)''', ''Destiny 2: Season of the Seraph - [[Heist Battleground: Europa]]''</ref>

House Salvation Fallen Splicers working under the direction of Xivu Arath's Hive, led by [[Haroktha, Scourge of the Helium Drinkers]] infiltrated the Seraph launch facility and the station itself. The splicers have been tasked to hack into the station's mainframe to make it easier for the Hive to corrupt and control the Warsat Network. Bypassing the station's heightened security, slaying the splicers and eventually Haroktha himself, so they could upload a virus to make the Warsat Network's systems more accessible to Rasputin.<ref>'''Bungie (2022/12/6)''', ''Destiny 2: Season of the Seraph - [[Operation: Seraph's Shield]]''</ref>

Eramis would succeed in gaining access to one of Rasputin's most dangerous protocols, ABHORRENT IMPERATIVE, an order to have all the Warsats target the Traveler directly in the event the Traveler ever intended to leave Humanity. Eramis's House of Salvation and Xivu Arath's Hive, led by [[Ir Garza, Scourge of Earth|Ir Garza]] fought to keep the the Guardians at bay as Eramis prepared the protocol, but the Guardians ultimately defeated the combined Fallen and Hive forces, and uploaded Rasputin into the network, sacrificing himself to destroy the Warsats.<ref>'''Bungie (2022/12/6)''', ''Destiny 2: Season of the Seraph - [[ABHORRENT IMPERATIVE (mission)|ABHORRENT IMPERATIVE]]''</ref>

[[J4W-S, Wrath-Hunter Servitor]], a Servitor that Xivu Arath's Wrathborn had taken control over was hunted by Guardians seeking egregore coral.<ref>'''Bungie (2023/5/22)''', ''Destiny 2: [[Season of the Deep]] - [[Operation Thunderbolt (Twilight)]]''</ref>

Azshradat confronted the Guardians once more as they worked to gather salvage from the Arcology. Despite Azshradat's power and the Hive supporting him, the Guardians slayed the latest of Xivu Arath's Celebrants. Xivu Arath also sent former foes of the Guardians, risen and made Taken, such as [[Val Ca'uor]] but they were not enough to stop the Guardians' efforts.<ref>'''Bungie (2023/5/22)''', ''Destiny 2: Season of the Deep - [[The Descent (mission)|The Descent]]''</ref>

Later [[Kudazad, Binder of Savathûn]], a former field leader of the Witch Queen, now twisted to serve Xivu Arath, was hunted by Guardians seeking more egregore coral.<ref>'''Bungie (2023/5/22)''', ''Destiny 2: Season of the Deep - [[Mayday, Mayday (Midnight)]]''</ref>

Xivu Arath's forces detected Guardians attempting to claim more egregore coral, leading them to move in and try to claim the coral themselves. Xivu Arath sent Taken to corrupt the coral before the Guardians could reach them. Kelgorath briefly fought Sloane, before escaping and fighting the Guardians. Yet, despite Kelgorath's persistence and Taken powers, the Guardians slayed Kelgorath and collecting the coral.<ref>'''Bungie (2023/5/22)''', ''Destiny 2: Season of the Deep - [[Operation Fulgurite (Abyss)]]''</ref>

Xivu Arath struck while the Guardians were conducting Salvage operations, and began conducting a ritual to Take Ahsa, causing her to leave the safety of Kraken Mare to disrupt their ritual but ended up being captured. Xivu Arath's forces were diverted by the Vanguard creating an opening for the Guardian to breach through and reach Ahsa. The [[Scream of Xivu Arath|Screams of Xivu Arath]], who were using corrupted egregore coral to the catalysts of their ritual, are attacked by the Guardian and Saladin's Iron War Beasts. Despite the Hive and Taken's efforts, the Guardian slays the Screams and using Drifter's machine, purifies the coral, actually wounding Xivu Arath in the process.<ref name="Barotrauma">'''Bungie (2023/5/22)''', ''Destiny 2: Season of the Deep - [[Barotrauma]]''</ref>

Back at the safety of the Arcologies and Xivu Arath's forces in full retreat, Sloane "finishes the mission" by interpreting the last part of Ahsa's message but is nearly possessed and Taken by Xivu Arath. Fortunately, Zavala is able to reach Sloane, getting the Deputy Commander to regain herself and interpret the message: the way to The Witness may be blocked but one may know of a way to reach it, "she who hides truth in deception", Savathûn, the Witch Queen.<ref name="Barotrauma"/>

A Lucent Hive ship delved deep into the waters beneath the New Pacific Arcology while Xivu's Brood fought the Guardians elsewhere. [[Šimmumah ur-Nokru]], now a Lightbearer necromancer for the Lucent Brood, began conducting a mass ritual disrupting Vanguard communication systems. Taking place at Oryx's calcified remains, the Hive sought to force Oryx's resurrection thought the use of a Hive Ghost. The Vanguard's Deputy Commander Sloane sent a fireteam of Guardians, who ultimately defeated the Wizard and thwarted the ritual.<ref name="GOTD">'''Bungie (2023/5/22)''', ''Destiny 2: Season of the Deep - [[Ghosts of the Deep]]''</ref>

Immaru was contacted by the Vanguard, who offered him Savathûn's body if she were to agree to help them pass through the portal at the Traveler. Immaru counters with a bargain of his own, citing that Savathûn anticipated that the Guardians would need her; they would need to deal with the Witch Queen's sister, Xivu Arath, before he would revive Savathûn.<ref>'''Bungie (2023/8/22)''', ''Destiny 2: [[Season of the Witch]] - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPrwuAJOx6s Opening Cutscene]''</ref> In this task, he would provide his aid in combating the Hive God of War. Immaru directed the Guardians to a special location within Savathûn's Throne World that held the information they needed, [[Savathûn's Spire]], found at the top of the Sanctum of the Brood Queen. The Lucent Hive, ordered by the Witch Queen to protect the Spire regardless of Immaru's current orders, defended the Spire from the Guardians.<ref>'''Bungie (2023/8/22)''', ''Destiny 2: Season of the Witch - [[Way of the Witch]]''</ref>  

The Spires' wardens, [[Dûl Alai]], [[Ur-Hiruk]] and [[Zirah]], were slain by the Guardians. During this, Immaru gave the Guardians audio recordings of the Witch Queen that she left behind in the event the Guardians ever required her aid after killing her. In one message, Savathûn states that they cannot defeat Xivu Arath conventionally, for her sister feeds off all conflict and grows stronger from it. Therefore, to defeat Xivu Arath, they must use the logic that the Hive God of War believes to be absolute: their Sword Logic. As such, Eris Morn would become a Hive God, gathering power through the tithe system, until she is strong enough to challenge Xivu Arath, for only a Hive of equal strength can do so.<ref name="SS">'''Bungie (2023/8/22)''', ''Destiny 2: Season of the Witch - [[Savathûn's Spire (activity)|Savathûn's Spire]]''</ref> Using Hive magic, Eris's body transforms with new Hive biology, capable of feeding off the battles the Guardians partake in, allowing her to grow in strength. With the ritual complete, Eris Morn had emerged as the new Hive God of Vengeance and made a base for herself within Savathûn's Throne World, which she would call the [[Athenaeum]].<ref>'''Bungie (2023/8/22)''', ''Destiny 2: Season of the Witch - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPrwuAJOx6s&t=80s Transformation]''</ref><ref>'''Bungie (2023/8/22)''', ''Destiny 2: Season of the Witch - [[Toil and Trouble (Quest)#Step 4|Toil and Trouble: Step 4]]''</ref>  

To begin in the quest to make new Hive God of Vengeance stronger, the Guardians located a prison called the oubliette beneath Savathûn's Spire, which also housed various ritual sites, the [[Altars of Summoning]], and acting as her acolyte, they battled with prisoners and retainers of the Witch Queen during her earlier studies with the Light, which included the Vex Ternary Minds, and forgotten Lucent Hive, such as Retainers of Savathûn [[Alak'nar, Retainer of Savathûn|Alak'nar]] and [[Ei Haaruz, Retainer of Savathûn|Ei Haaruz]]. Defeating them allowed Eris to gain strength from the tithe system, as planned.<ref>'''Bungie (2023/8/22)''', ''Destiny 2: Season of the Witch - [[Mission: Invoke]]''</ref>

Eris would later clarify the nature of her transformation to the Guardian, stating that her transformation didn't empower her as she expected, but instead "refined" her.<ref>'''Bungie (2023/8/22)''', ''Destiny 2: Season of the Witch - [[The Bladed Path#Step 5|The Bladed Path: Step 5]]''</ref> She would further inform the Guardian on the nature of the Hive's Sword Logic and of Xivu Arath's devotion to it. To the Hive, the Sword Logic is the only way to prove one's right to exist while the rest die in terror but Eris states the Hive's logic is flawed as she had used it to acquire the power needed to claim her vengeance just as she did when Crota, Oryx and Savathûn were felled. Eris was able to see past Xivu Arath's devotion to the Sword Logic as a desperate, childish cry to prove it right and using it against her would deny her its vindication. Further, Eris states that while she may use the Sword Logic, she is using it not out of desperation as the Hive do, but out of desire.<ref>'''Bungie (2023/8/22)''', ''Destiny 2: Season of the Witch - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPrwuAJOx6s&t=220s Sword Logic]''</ref> Immaru later offered insight of his own, but scoffed that "philosophy" will defeat Xivu Arath. He offered a recording of an argument Xivu Arath had with Savathûn not long after Oryx had been slain years ago, where Xivu Arath desired to avenge their brother just as he attempted to avenge his son. The Witch Queen mocked her desire for revenge, stating that by the Guardians killing Crota and Oryx, both had deserved death, and that Oryx's attempt to avenge his son's death only proved him a hypocrite, mocking Xivu Arath for being the same. The Hive God of War, however, refused to accept this, believing that Eris, she who orchestrated Oryx's demise, would take up his mantle, take her "true shape" and eventually face her. The Witch Queen, however, remained unimpressed, citing her sister as a "vain child" that Oryx "spoiled rotten" before stating that she will not always get her way. With the recording finished, Immaru theorized that Xivu Arath saw Eris as Oryx's heir and that this was part of Savathûn's plan, which made the Hive Ghost wonder what the former Lightbearer is doing.<ref>'''Bungie (2023/8/22)''', ''Destiny 2: Season of the Witch - H.E.L.M. Radio Message: [[H.E.L.M.#tabsection-1-8|Immaru's first message to the Guardians]]''</ref>

Eris would continue receiving tithes from the Guardians, whether it be in Shaxx's Crucible or within the Altars of Summoning, growing stronger with each kill. In addition, Eris provided attunements for the Guardian to strengthen her powers and their abilities in using Hive Magic.{{Citation needed}} Immaru would contact the Guardians, again taunting them regarding his dislike of their alliance, but goes through with the plan because his Lightbearer had ordered it, along with him to give the Guardians whatever they need, giving them another recording of Savathûn's as proof. Of course, Immaru does so in his usual brutal, matter-of-fact style, encouraging the Guardians to help Eris grow stronger with tithes, mocking them once again for being part of the Witch Queen's plan.<ref>'''Bungie (2023/8/22)''', ''Destiny 2: Season of the Witch - [[The Bladed Path#Step 12|The Bladed Path: Step 12]]''</ref>

In time, Eris called upon the Guardian in her Hive form once more within her Athenaum, informing them that ever since she assumed her new form, a whisper from the Deep called to her, goading her to give in to her vengeance. But Eris refused and promised to destroy her Hive form along with the rest once Xivu Arath is dealt with. However, Eris warned the Guardians that the Hive God of War will not fall to might alone, for she has fed off of conflict since the first war-song. Nonetheless, Eris stated that each tithe strengthens her as well as thrills her, but informed the Guardians that her cards spoke of change, "a great shadow rises from the sea of blood", as she explained. In essence, something was coming.<ref>'''Bungie (2023/8/22)''', ''Destiny 2: Season of the Witch - [[The Bladed Path#Step 14|The Bladed Path: Step 14]]''</ref>

That something turned out to be Xivu Arath herself, as her brood managed to breach into Savathûn's Spire, looking to turn her sister's court into her battlefield. [[Molok, Edge of Xivu Arath]] was defeated by the Guardians, who sought to clear out the rest of the spire of Xivu Arath's forces even as the War God taunted them and issued her challenge towards Eris Morn. Xivu's Brood and the Guardians competed against one another, fighting each other and the Scorn, attempting to gather more tithes for their respective Gods. The War God continued to taunt Eris, goading her to accept the Sword Logic as truth and face her as Hive, but Eris Morn refused to give into Xivu Arath's words before threatening her that once their clash is over, she would flee, leaving the Xivu Arath's Worm to gnaw at her before she starved.<ref name="SS"/> Immaru quickly contacted the Guardian to make haste in reaching his Lightbearer's oubliette, citing that Xivu Arath breaching into Savathûn's Throne World wasn't part of the plan.<ref>'''Bungie (2023/8/22)''', ''Destiny 2: Season of the Witch - [[The Bladed Path#Step 16|The Bladed Path: Step 16]]''</ref>

Within the Altars of Summoning, Talons of Xivu Arath [[Ir Dollox, Talon of Xivu Arath|Ir Dollox]] and [[Ir Kaza, Talon of Xivu Arath|Ir Kaza]] attempted to claim tithes for Xivu Arath, but were slain by the Guardians. Fortunately, their deaths served as more tithes for Eris just the same, which only left Xivu Arath incensed. Xivu Arath summoned her best general, [[Leviathan-Eater, Bane of the Ammonites]], to face the Guardians. However, before their battle could proceed any further, the Leviathan-Eater withdrew, as he was merely testing their capabilities.<ref>'''Bungie (2023/8/22)''', ''Destiny 2: Season of the Witch - [[Mission: Conjure]]''</ref>

Within the Throne World, Eris discovered a hidden location above Savathûn's oubliette, where the [[The Imbaru Engine|Imbaru Engine]] is housed, the method by which Savathûn attempted to reinterpret her brother's logic. Immaru protested against the Guardians entering, but they ignored him and partook in the Imbaru Engine, and managed to clear the trials.<ref name="Imbaru">'''Bungie (2023/8/22)''', ''Destiny 2: Season of the Witch - [[The Imbaru Engine (activity)|The Imbaru Engine]]''</ref>

Some time later, Eris Morn summoned the Guardian, taking her Hive form once more to proclaim what will be their final tithe. She stated that she had Ikora prepare something from the Vanguard vaults for transmat when the time was right, for when she would remind Savathûn and Xivu Arath were once "born as prey".<ref>'''Bungie (2023/8/22)''', ''Destiny 2: Season of the Witch - [[The Bladed Path#Step 46|The Bladed Path: Step 46]]''</ref> Returning to the oubliette, Immaru voiced his fears that Xivu Arath began to summon the Leviathan-Eater, proclaiming his intent to flee but Eris forced the Hive Ghost to stay as the Guardian opens the way to the Altar of the Sword, where they challenge Xivu Arath's champion. Despite the Leviathan-Eater's power and streams of Hive support, the Guardian manages to hold their own against him, forcing Xivu Arath to prepare a bombardment of the area. Using her Hive Magic, Eris created a barrier strong enough to withstand the bombardment, forcing the Leviathan-Eater to charge, breaching the barrier. In one last clash, the Guardian slew the Leviathan-Eater, empowering Eris and preparing her for the last part of her plan.<ref>'''Bungie (2023/8/22)''', ''Destiny 2: Season of the Witch - [[Mission: Sunder]]''</ref> At the Altar's center, Eris has Ikora transmat the item she requested, Savathûn's body for Immaru to resurrect. Immaru protested, citing that Xivu Arath was still a threat, but Eris Morn ordered him to proceed as he would not get another chance. Agreeing, Immaru raises Savathûn back from death with the Witch Queen commenting on Eris's Hive form, claiming that she had "come out of her shell", but the Hive God of Vengeance merely replied that she would be the Witch Queen's ruin, slicing her throat, surprising all present. In that act, Eris gained power from Savathûn's death, gaining all the power she had accumulated since the last time she had died before being separated from her worm, which was over a millennia ago. Combining that with the tithes the Guardians had gathered, Eris had now become the most powerful Hive God, surpassing even Xivu Arath. Using her power, Eris Morn cast a spell that banished the Hive God of War from her own Throne World, rendering her mortal and unable to draw strength from tithes before fainting.<ref>'''Bungie (2023/8/22)''', ''Destiny 2: Season of the Witch - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPrwuAJOx6s&t=395s Rejection]''</ref>

Savathûn had kept her end of the bargain by informing Ikora of the secret that the Vanguard needs to pass through the portal upon the Traveler. Further, as part of a peace offering, the Witch Queen was allowed to return to her Throne World but the Vanguard would not only be allowed to have the Guardians continue to venture into her domain but also take custody of Immaru, thereby allowing the Guardians to destroy her connection to the Light should they believe Savathûn is endangering humanity. Ikora and Eris agreed to the terms, citing that while keeping both Hive Gods alive would be a risk, the Warlock Vanguard believed that the Witness must be their priority.<ref>'''Bungie (2023/8/22)''', ''Destiny 2: Season of the Witch - Lore:[[Lore:Rites of Passage|Rites of Passage]], [[Lore:Rites of Passage#A Deal's a Deal|A Deal's a Deal]]''</ref><ref>'''Bungie (2023/8/22)''', ''Destiny 2: Season of the Witch - H.E.L.M. Radio Message: [[H.E.L.M.#tabsection-6-8|Ikora's Report]]''</ref>

The Witch Queen mentioned to the Guardians that she left something for them in the Imbaru Engine.{{Citation needed}} Entering the Engine and prevailing against the various puzzles and tricks in their path, the Guardians find what Savathûn had left them: a uncorrupted Ahamkara egg, a clue to how they would enter the Traveler.<ref name="Imbaru"/> After the Guardian brings the egg back to the Athenaeum to be secured, they recall a strange pattern on Savathûn's wings after she had been resurrected, a pattern similar to those on the Wall of Wishes. Thus, Savathûn had upheld her end of the bargain, leaving them the pattern for a wish to enter the Traveler.<ref>'''Bungie (2023/8/22)''', ''Destiny 2: Season of the Witch - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPrwuAJOx6s&t=508s The Last Wish]''</ref>

Following the discovery of Savathûn's wish, the Guardians would make a perilous bargain with Riven so she could grant them access to the Pale Heart. Despite the setbacks that could have put the bargain in jeopardy, the Vanguard fulfilled their obligation, and Crow was able to enter the Pale Heart first. Ultimately, as the Witness was on the verge of enacting the Final Shape, the Guardian and Vanguard successfully passed through the portal into the Pale Heart. During their search for Ikora Rey, the Guardian would be constrained to fight through forces of Xivu Arath cooperating with the Witness's army, the [[The Dread|Dread]]. Regardless of their diligent effort, the followers of Xivu Arath would fail to hinder the Guardian's mission as they would successfully reunite with Ikora.<ref>'''Bungie (2024/6/4)''', ''Destiny 2: [[The Final Shape]] - [[Exegesis]]''</ref>  

While undergoing their expedition to triangulate a fissure of Light located in the [[The Landing|Landing]], the Guardian would enter into the [[The Forgotten Deep|Forgotten Deep]] where they would perplexing encounter a brood of the Lucent Hive that had established a foothold in the Pale Heart. Defeating the various Lucent Hive infestations in this location, the Guardian discovered that the fissure had been strangled by the Witness's influence.<ref>'''Bungie (2024/6/4)''', ''Destiny 2: The Final Shape - [[The Message, Part II]]''</ref> Travelling to the location of another fissure in the [[The Blooming Deep|Blooming Deep]], the Guardian would astonishingly be assisted by a friendly Hive Lightbearer known as [[Luzaku]] who had broken off from her brood after thinking of the possibility of change in the Sky.<ref>'''Bungie (2024/06/04)''', ''Destiny 2: The Final Shape - Item Description: [[First Ascent Suit#First Ascent Helmet|First Ascent Helmet]]''</ref> After eliminating the [[Taken]] converging on the fissure, Luzaku disclosed to the Guardian that she and her brood had entered the Pale Heart after infiltrating the Black Fleet at Savathûn's behest. While the Guardian's [[The Ghost|Ghost]] remained suspicious of her intentions, Luzaku assured the Guardian she was not a threat and would not intervene with their attempt to commune with the Traveler. When their communion with the Traveler concluded, Luzaku informed Ghost that she would protect the Blooming Deep from invaders and warned them that her brood would continue to remain a threat to their mission.<ref>'''Bungie (2024/6/4)''', ''Destiny 2: The Final Shape - [[The Message, Part III]]''</ref>

Within the [[The Impasse|Impasse]], the brood of Luzaku would clash with the Taken and Dread forces, thriving in the chaos ensuing in the Pale Heart. During their mission to eliminate the [[Kataxiia, Tormentor of the Ahamkara|Tormentor]] guarding a path to the Monolith, the Guardian. Journeying into the [[The Abscess|Abscess]], the Guardian battles through Lucent Hive and dispels the Hive locks to progress forward towards the Tormentor's location. As the Guardian and Tormentor clash in a formidable battle, a Lucent Hive detachment ambushes the two combatants, only to be slain not long after.<ref>'''Bungie (2024/6/4)''', ''Destiny 2: The Final Shape - [[Liminality]]''</ref>

When Zavala departed from the camp to follow the Dissenter's advice, the forces of Xivu Arath would attempt to prevent the Vanguard from reaching their commander by guarding the statue located closely to the Abscess and preventing them from traversing through the storm in the [[The Transgression|Transgression]] created by the Witness. Despite their considerable large personnel, the Hive would be defeated by the Guardian, who would follow the trail of the Dissenters. Later, three Wizards known as the [[Devoted Acolyte]]s guarding the entrance to the [[The Maelstrom|Maelstrom]] would clash with the Guardians in a large temple only to be slain as they and the Vanguard would successfully save Zavala from the grasp of the Witness after the death of his Ghost, [[Targe]].<ref>'''Bungie (2024/6/4)''', ''Destiny 2: The Final Shape - [[Dissent]]''</ref>  

Beginning their journey to the memory of the [[The Sacrarium|Sacrarium]], the Guardian would slay [[Resonant Warder]]s to unveil concealed Glyphs and interact with them to progress further towards the structure. Meanwhile, the Vanguard leaders would also fight through Hive forces while following the Guardian's lead. Eventually, the Guardian wounds the Witness after entering its consciousness to destroy some of its dissenting minds before fleeing the confrontation with the Vanguard shortly after.<ref>'''Bungie (2024/6/4)''', ''Destiny 2: The Final Shape - [[Iconoclasm]]''</ref>  

Not long after retreating from the Witness Savathûn, along with a substantial amount of her Lucent Hive, would enter the Pale Heart and agree to a "temporary alliance" with the Coalition to defeat the Witness. Regardless of the truce formed with the Vanguard, Savathûn would continue to enact her schemes. To hone the Guardian's strength for the battle, Savathûn would dispatch her forces to assault the [[The Lost City|Lost City]]. Establishing a presence outside of the City's tower, the Lucent Hive would install a variety of Hive Runes and [[Annihilator Totem|Ritual Conduit]]s in preparation for their assault. Detecting the sheer number of Hive swarming their location, Mara Sov dispatches the Guardian to investigate their intentions. Travelling down from the tower, the Guardian demolishes two ritual sites established by the Hive and travels to the final site where Savathûn confronts them directly. Engaging with the Guardian in a gruelling clash, the Witch Queen eventually retreats from the confrontation while her brood regroups from the Tower.<ref>'''Bungie (2024/6/4)''', ''Destiny 2: The Final Shape - [[Queens, Part I]]''</ref> Striving to uncover the intent of Savathûn's motives, Mara Sov sends the Guardian to pursue her Lucent Brood to uncover the true nature of her plans. As the Guardian discovered the existence of Light fissures that only the Taken can perceive, Luzaku comes to their assistance and aids them in defeating the Witness's forces.<ref>'''Bungie (2024/6/4)''', ''Destiny 2: The Final Shape - [[Queens, Part II]]''</ref>

Regardless of the events occurring in the Pale Heart, various Hive would continue their operations in the system of Sol. Members of the Lucent Brood would launch a scout mission in the Cosmodrome where they would be spotted by [[Shaw Han]]. While searching for the Ghost, [[Peach]], the Guardian returns to the Cosmodrome's old Hive nest where they would perplexingly slay the resurgent Navôta, Eir Spawn. Unaware of the nature behind Navôta's return, [[Micah-10]] speculated that the Hive Wizard was potentially a masked agent of Savathûn sent to infiltrate Xivu Arath's brood, or she was resurrected through an act of [[Necromancy]].<ref>'''Bungie (2024/6/4)''', ''Destiny 2: The Final Shape - [[The Return]]''</ref> Hiding in the shadows during the conflict, Xivu Arath would cut her losses from her former master and would begin to gather her strength for the conflict that would follow the [[War against the Witness]]. With Mara Sov distracted by the conflict with the Witness, Xivu Arath would continue to rapidly move her brood through the Ascendant Plane. While searching for her Guardian, the unpartnered Ghost known as [[Akasha]] travels through the Ascendant Plane and analyzes the Ley Lines to uncover the rapid transportation of Xivu Arath's brood. During the Guardian's search for Akasha at the behest of Micah-10, Mara and Crow detect the movement occurring in the Ascendant Plane and recognize the intent behind Xivu Arath's actions.<ref>'''Bungie (2024/6/4)''', ''Destiny 2: The Final Shape - [[The Ascendant]]''</ref> Later, Xivu Arath would dispatch her brood to investigate the time rifts on [[Mars]]. Nevertheless, their expedition would be cut short by the Guardian as they would be slain before they could acquire any Warmind technology.<ref>'''Bungie (2024/6/4)''', ''Destiny 2: The Final Shape - [[The Past]]''</ref>

During a fireteam's mission to break the Witness's hold over the Traveler, the Hive of Xivu Arath would attempt to defend the Monolith alongside the other forces of the Witness. However, their efforts would prove futile as the fireteam successfully severed the Witness's hold over the Traveler, forcing the entity to retreat from its Monolith.<ref>'''Bungie (2024/6/7)''', ''Destiny 2: The Final Shape - [[The Past]]''</ref> In the aftermath of the fireteam's success, the Lucent Brood would gather alongside the Coalition to take part in the final fight against the Witness itself. In one last grand battle, the Lucent Brood battled alongside the Coalition against the Witness's forces, with Savathûn working with Mara Sov in preventing the Witness from escaping. Ultimately, the Guardians channeled the full force of the Traveler's Light through their Ghost towards the Witness, unmaking the entity, forever thwarting the Final Shape. Despite this victory, the fall of the Witness would leave a massive power vacuum that other forces would seek to fill. Xivu Arath would continue to enact her operations from the shadows. Meanwhile, the Witch Queen and her Lucent Brood would maintain their presence in the Pale Heart and intend to claim the unfathomable realm for themselves.<ref>'''Bungie (2024/6/4)''', ''Destiny 2: The Final Shape - [[Excision]]''</ref> Sometime after the Witness's defeat, Immaru would escape the Vanguard's custody and return to his Lightbearer, removing the leverage the Vanguard had over the Witch Queen.<ref>'''Bungie (2025/2/4)''', ''Destiny 2: The Final Shape - Item Description: [[Pelorus Shell#Lore|Pelorus Shell]]''</ref>

Following two incidents involving the [[Echo (object)|Echoes]], pieces of the Witness's memories merged with the Light, the third Echo found its way to the Dreadnaught, having remained quiet since the end of the Taken War.<ref name="Espial">'''Bungie (2025/2/4)''', ''Destiny 2: [[Episode: Heresy]] - [[Espial]]''</ref> Unlike the other echoes, the third echo was special as it bore the memories of Oryx himself, during his prime when he slew Akka and dubbed himself the Taken King.<ref name="Kludge">'''Bungie (2025/2/4)''', ''Destiny 2: Episode: Heresy - [[Kludge]]''</ref> The event drew Hive to return to Oryx's vessel and led to a surge of Taken to appear, including the creation of a new variant called [[Dire Taken]].{{Citation needed}} As the Guardians worked with Eris and Drifter in investigating the Dreadnaught, they would soon encounter the [[Echo of Navigation]] bearing Oryx's memory. As the memory formed, Oryx's sisters would appear to reunite with their brother, with the [[Voice of Xivu Arath]] appearing as an avatar for the God of War. Though the Memory of Oryx was confused on the knowledge that he had been slain by the Guardian, by the logic he forged, that would mean his killers would take his place. This, however, didn't sit well with the sisters as Xivu Arath was thrilled at the prospect of her brother rising again, retaking his throne and reigniting the Hive's conquest. Conversely, Savathûn believed that with the Witness slain, the Hive were free to chart their own path and therefore should stop squabbling. All three couldn't agree with the Memory of Oryx, still proclaimed the Guardian as its heir-presumptive before wishing to return to his roots on Fundament, leading the Witch Queen and the God of War to depart and mobilize their forces.<ref name="Kludge"/>

Though the "return" of the Taken King was unprecedented, the Hive's reception to the news was mixed. While many Hive celebrated at the prospect of their God-King's return, others were actually plagued by doubt as Oryx's return would therefore violate the Sword-Logic that they had held sacred for millennia. Thus, the events on the Dreadnaught are essentially heretical to the tenets of Oryx's Sword Logic, making them doubt its very veracity.<ref>'''Bungie (2025/2/4)''', ''Destiny 2: Episode: Heresy - [[The Nether#Second Chest|Dredging Up Secrets II]]''</ref> The Hive sisters themselves would grow more frustrated and dismayed as all of their appeals to their brother would be rebuffed as the Memory of Oryx would be disillusioned with what his sisters have become, from Savathûn being remade in the Light and Xivu Arath reducing the Hive's war to a "tantrum" and sadly unable to deny that his existence goes against the logic his original self had forged.<ref>'''Bungie (2025/2/4)''', ''Destiny 2: Episode: Heresy - [[Act II: Rites of the Deep#Step 13|Act II: Rites of the Deep: Step 13]]''</ref><ref>'''Bungie (2025/2/4)''', ''Destiny 2: Episode: Heresy - [[Xivu Arath]]: [[The Nether#Completion|"BROTHER! YOU WOULD LAY DOWN YOUR EXISTENCE FOR AN UNWORTHY SUCCESSOR! YOU WOULD MANTLE A LIAR. WHY? I WILL NOT LET YOU!"]]''</ref><ref>'''Bungie (2025/2/4)''', ''Destiny 2: Episode: Heresy - [[Act III: Crossed Blades#Step 5|Act II: Rites of the Deep: Step 5]]''</ref>

Xivu Arath, unwilling to see another claim her brother's place, gathered her horde and the Hidden Swarm to invade the Dreadnaught and seize the Echo of Navigation.{{Citation needed}} Eris, having survived a brush with death at the hands of a Taken [[Subjugator]] called [[The Resonant Knife]],<ref>'''Bungie (2025/2/4)''', ''Destiny 2: Episode: Heresy - [[Recce]]''</ref> acquired her own throne world she dubbed the [[High Heresy]]. With this new realm under her power, Eris planned to seal away the Echo, and thereby Oryx, in turn keeping it and Oryx out of the Hive sisters' reach.<ref>'''Bungie (2025/2/4)''', ''Destiny 2: Episode: Heresy - [[Act II: Rites of the Deep#Step 7|Act II: Rites of the Deep: Step 7]]''</ref> Eris's defense of her throne world would be tested as the God of War sought to invade the High Heresy by using a piece of her brother's sword, Willbreaker, and having an imprisoned Darkblade, [[Obak-Hul, Imprisoned]] to wield the blade when it is restored. Unfortunately for Xivu Arath, the Guardian thwarted the ritual, slew Obak-Hul and claimed Willbreaker's hilt for themselves.<ref>'''Bungie (2025/2/4)''', ''Destiny 2: Episode: Heresy - [[The Sunless Cell]]''</ref>

Savathûn soon showed her own hand in a plan to claim the Echo and the Memory of Oryx by enacting a ritual within her own throne world. Using Taken sorcery through the [[Disciple of Malok|Disciples of Malok]], the Witch Queen sought to pierce into the High Heresy, but the Guardians noticed this. Traveling into Savathûn's Throne World, the Guardians hunted down each disciple before they could complete the ritual and collected the centerpiece of the ritual, Malok's head. As Malok was one of the few to retain their will after being Taken, Eris believed that the Head of Malok would be useful in understanding the Taken's nature, but this drew the ire of the Witch Queen, as Malok was one of her children. It was clear that the Witch Queen's relations with the Guardians had become much more hostile, as without the Witness, Savathûn no longer had any reason to maintain her charade of civility.<ref>'''Bungie (2025/2/4)''', ''Destiny 2: Episode: Heresy - [[Act III: Crossed Blades#Step 8|Act III: Crossed Blades: Step 8]]''</ref>

After fending off two attempts to breach into the High Heresy, Deputy Commander Sloane called for the Echo's destruction, believing it and Oryx's memory within were too dangerous to exist, but Eris maintained the argument that Oryx's memory would provide invaluable insight on the Hive sisters. Nonetheless, Eris believed that Oryx's sword could provide a compromise. With Willbreaker reforged, they could separate the Echo of Navigation from Oryx's Memory.{{Citation needed}} With Sloane's aid, as only a Taken hand could restore the sword, the Guardian succeeded in reforging Willbreaker, despite the Taken's efforts to stop them.<ref>'''Bungie (2025/2/4)''', ''Destiny 2: Episode: Heresy - [[Appellation]]''</ref> Unfortunately, Eris's attempts to maintain the Echo's prison reached their limit, which led all factions on the Dreadnaught to notice the Echo breaking free. Despite Eris's efforts, the Echo managed to free itself from the High Heresy but still refused to leave the Dreadnaught, leading the Lucent Brood, Xivu Arath's Horde and the Dire Taken to converge on its location, with the Guardian fighting their way to the Echo as well.<ref name="Resile">'''Bungie (2025/2/4)''', ''Destiny 2: Episode: Heresy - [[Resile]]''</ref>

Before the Echo of Navigation appeared on the outer hull of the Dreadnaught, the Guardian battled with Savathûn's Projections, the Voice of Xivu Arath, and finally, the Resonant Knife. Yet all their efforts failed against the Guardian wielding Willbreaker. Between each clash, the Echo created a Shade of Oryx to battle with the Guardian, but it too would ultimately be slain. Understanding that they had no other choice, Eris gave her command to the Guardian to destroy the Echo of Navigation. With a final strike from Willbreaker, the Echo would be destroyed and Oryx with it.<ref name="Resile"/> With their brother gone for good, Savathûn and Xivu Arath would express their sorrow and rage against the Guardian, vowing vengeance.<ref>'''Bungie (2025/2/4)''', ''Destiny 2: Episode: Heresy - [[Savathûn, the Witch Queen|Savathûn]]: [[Act III: Crossed Blades#Step 14|"My brother. My BROTHER, dead. May all that you desire ever be stolen from your grasp. And if the cold and unfeeling universe does not see to it, then I certainly will. Goodbye, Traveler's pet. Don’t wait up."]]''</ref><ref>'''Bungie (2025/2/4)''', ''Destiny 2: Episode: Heresy - [[Xivu Arath]]: [[The Nether#Introduction|"YOU KILLED HIM! YOU KILLED HIM! I WILL FIGHT YOU FOREVER."]]''</ref>

The Krill were a [[Wikipedia:Eusociality|eusocial]] species, similar to Earth's colonial insects, and capable of [[wikipedia:sequential hermaphroditism|sequential hermaphroditism]], both aspects of which retained by the Hive. Oryx, born the female Aurash, became the male Auryx after assuming the unique "king morph",<ref name="Born As Prey"/> while Xivu remained female.<ref name="OotD">'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King - Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow, [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow#XII: Out of the Deep|XII: Out of the Deep]]''</ref>

While Knights are commonly seen as male and Wizards as female, they are not completely locked to specific genders as Xivu remained female as a Knight while Nokris was a male Wizard.<ref name="GhostScan"/> Ogres however appear to be not a stage of growth in the Hive life cycle but a mutation brought upon Thrall by Wizard rituals.<ref>'''Bungie (2014/9/9)''', ''Destiny - Grimoire:Enemies/Hive, [[Grimoire:Enemies/Hive#Ogre|Ogre]]''</ref> Female Hive Wizards are capable of either self-fertilization or being with a mate,<ref name="Hive"/> and are the only apparent reproductive caste of the Hive.<ref name="Heart"/>

Hive gestate as eggs or cocoons.<ref name="Heart"/> Upon hatching, newborn Hive swallow a Worm larva whole, becoming symbiotic and dependent on it.<ref>'''Bungie (2014/9/9)''', ''Destiny - Grimoire:Enemies/Hive, [[Grimoire:Enemies/Hive#Ghost Fragment: Hive 2|Ghost Fragment: Hive 2]]''</ref> These newborn Hive grow into Thrall, and Thrall that survive into maturity become Acolytes. Acolytes who have proven themselves can become Knights, who in turn may become Princes, leading their own broods.<ref name="Hive"/>  

The Hive are described to be rather like their own living component-containing [[Hive Warship|spacecraft]], a terrifying amalgam of predator genetics, arcane bio-energetics, and what is considered Darkness incarnate.<ref>'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King - Grimoire:Activities/Crucible Arenas, [[Grimoire:Activities/Crucible Arenas#The Dungeons|The Dungeons]]''</ref>  Members of the Hive are pale, sinewy, and vaguely humanoid, with varying levels of musculature and armor, with parts of this armor having fused with their flesh.<ref>[http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2013/12/16/the-enemies-of-destiny.aspx?PostPageIndex=2 '''Game Informer''': ''The Enemies of Destiny'']</ref><ref name="Predators"/> Like the ancient Krill before them, Acolytes and Knights have three eyes, whereas Thrall appear to be eyeless with the sole exception of the Thrall encountered in the beginning of [[Crota's End]] Raid, who have three glowing green eyes. Wizards likewise appear to be eyeless but theirs are concealed behind the helmets they wear. Hive fangs grow in rows, with grooves on their roots, and are continually shed, much like those of Earth sharks; when one fang is lost, another moves forward to replace it.<ref>'''Bungie (2020/11/10)''', ''Destiny 2: Season of the Hunt - Item Description: [[Fang of Xivu Arath#Lore|Fang of Xivu Arath]]''</ref>

The Light is both a food source to the Hive and a cause of pain.<ref name="Heart">'''Bungie (2014/12/9)''', ''Destiny - Grimoire:Enemies/Exalted Hive, [[Grimoire:Enemies/Exalted Hive#Heart of Crota|Heart of Crota]]''</ref><ref name="Warlock2"/> The Hive life cycle is so deeply entwined with that of their parasitic Worm that not even the Light can fully restore them. While trickling Light can keep their Worm sated without the need for bloodshed or other forms of tithing,<ref>'''Bungie (2022/2/22)''', ''Destiny 2: The Witch Queen - Lore:Lucent Tales, [[Lore:Lucent Tales#Specter|Specter]]''</ref>, if a Lightbearing Hive is deprived of their Ghost, they will quickly die unless special measures are enacted.<ref name="PsiOpsBattlegrounds">'''Bungie (2022/2/22)''', ''Destiny 2: Season of the Risen - [[PsiOps Battlegrounds]]''</ref> Their biology is so reactive that, when exposed to overwhelming amounts of beneficial Light, it causes the cysts used to contain it to become a [[Lucent Moth|rudimentary lifeform]] of its own.<ref name="KrillHive2"/>

{{Quote|Crota's spawn will snuff out the worlds of Light, and Oryx's coming shall be unfettered.|[[Osiris]]<ref name = "Spawn Crota">'''Bungie (2014/9/9)''', ''Destiny - Grimoire:Enemies/Hive, [[Grimoire:Enemies/Hive#Spawn of Crota|Spawn of Crota]]''</ref>}}

The Hive Prince Crota is introduced as one of the youngest Hive deities. Known as the God-Knight and the Hope-Eater, he and his broods precede the coming of Oryx when they invade worlds touched by the Traveler and the Light.<ref name = "Spawn Crota"/> Oryx is Crota's father and the central figure of their religion as well as the God-King of the Hive; through his shrines he maintains contact with his force spread across the universe.{{Citation needed}} Other deities include Oryx's own sisters Savathûn and Xivu Arath, and the greater Worm Gods Eir, Ur, Xol, and Yul. Like Crota and Oryx, they have disciples named after them.<ref>'''Bungie (2014/12/9)''', ''Destiny: The Dark Below - Grimoire:Enemies/Hive, [[Grimoire:Enemies/Hive#Ghost Fragment: Hive 4|Ghost Fragment: Hive 4]]''</ref> A fifth god, named Akka, is recorded in the Books of Sorrow and it is from his remains that the Dreadnaught is built.<ref name="Dreadnaught"/>

The Hive use a unique writing system,<ref>'''Bungie (2014/9/9)''', ''Destiny - Item Description [[Silken Codex]]''</ref> based on runes and glyphs which they describe as a "viral language". Hive runes draw their power from a different dimension, where there's no difference between a word and its meaning. According to Ikora, the Hive's runes are not letters but rather logograms representing a word or idea etched into them. Their patterns draw power from their meaning, and their orientation casts a spell.<ref>'''Bungie (2023/8/22)''', ''Destiny 2: Season of the Witch - [[Ikora Rey]]: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYrN3aCP7rA "Hive runes aren't letters. They're logograms. Each one represents a word or idea. Their patterns draw power from their meaning, and their orientation casts a spell. Eris uses them in her rituals... and we can use them now."]''</ref>  When the Hive erode the barrier between our dimension and theirs, the rune for 'death' brings literal death.{{Citation needed}} They also employ it for their forbidden Hive rituals, including the use of [[Shadowrift]]s and the [[Weapons of Sorrow]]. The same glyphs are also found on sealings used to lock doors and contain their [[Phogoth, the Untamed|monsters]].

The Hive have great hatred for the Light, and to them, the eternal struggle between light and dark is not only a war, it is a crusade; all Light must be devoured so Darkness can reclaim the universe.<ref>'''Bungie (2014/9/9)''', ''Destiny - Grimoire:Enemies/Hive, [[Grimoire:Enemies/Hive#The Hive|The Hive]]''</ref> They have even attempted to attack the [[Traveler]] directly, through a ritual in which they drained its light through a fragment that they captured in the [[Chamber of Night]].<ref>'''Bungie (2014/9/9)''', ''Destiny - [[Chamber of Night (mission)|Chamber of Night]]''</ref>

{{quote|Ah, Oryx, how do we explain it to them? The world is not built on the laws they love ''[…]'' but in the cold hard self-verifying truth of that one ultimate arbiter, the only judge, the power that is its own metric and its own source—existence, at any cost. Strip away the lies and truces and delaying tactics they call 'civilization' and this is what remains, this beautiful shape.|The Darkness<ref name="Majestic">'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King - Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow, [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow#XXXII: Majestic. Majestic.|XXXII: Majestic. Majestic]]''</ref>}}

The Hive religion is not based on any sort of conventional morality; in fact, they see morality and the "false hope of comfort" as an abomination. Instead, a metaphysical principle known as the "[[Sword Logic]]" forms the basis of the Hive's belief system. According to the Sword Logic, it is the ultimate goal of intelligent beings to challenge one another for the right to continue existing, and a being may acquire paracausal power by defeating another being.<ref name="Darkness 3">'''Bungie (2014/9/9)''', ''Destiny - Grimoire:Enemies/Darkness, [[Grimoire:Enemies/Darkness#Ghost Fragment: Darkness 3|Ghost Fragment: Darkness 3]]''</ref> All such power must necessarily be taken by force, not received as a gift.<ref name="King of Shapes"/> This is why Hive swords are so deadly to Guardians; they create a bridge in which the wielder saps the power of the victim.<ref name="Ascendant Sword"/>

The Ascendant Realm is ruled in totality by the Sword Logic; when Crota accidentally allowed the [[Vex]] into his father's realm,<ref name="partition"/> they learned the Sword Logic from him and adapted it to their own functions,<ref name="open eye"/> learning to worship and bootstrap themselves into divinity, striving to become the most powerful beings in the universe.<ref name="Emperor"/> At the time however, they were unable to fully comprehend the role that the worms and the acausal Darkness played. While the Sword Logic helped the Guardians in defeating Crota when they stole his sword and used it against him,<ref name="Ascendant Sword">'''Bungie (2014/12/9)''', ''Destiny: The Dark Below - Grimoire:Activities/Raids, [[Grimoire:Activities/Raids#Ascendant Sword|Ascendant Sword]]''</ref> they broke the Sword Logic when they recovered and uncorrupted the Light found in the Dreadnaught's cellar, and used it against Oryx, then refusing to take up the mantle as the new Taken King.<ref name="King's Fall">'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King - Grimoire:Activities/Raids, [[Grimoire:Activities/Raids#King's Fall|King's Fall]]''</ref>

[[Resurrection]], in general, is seen as heretical by the Hive who follow the Sword Logic. To the Hive, death is the principle of the Sword Logic to attaining apotheosis; to take and grow stronger after defeating an opponent. If the slain were resurrected, it would be contradicting the logic it violated. As such, Nokris, who learned the secrets of necromancy from Xol, was branded a heretic, exiled from his kind and condemned to obscurity as his father removed nearly all traces of his name.<ref>'''Bungie (2018/8/5)''', ''Destiny 2: Warmind - Item Description: [[Wormgod Caress#Lore|Wormgod Caress]]''</ref><ref name="VB"/>

The rules of death are somewhat different to the Hive than what they are to humans. This is most notably exemplified by the concept of Ascendance: those Hive individuals who have grown powerful enough through the Sword Logic can move between the physical dimension and the Ascendant Realm and carve a "throne world" there so that when they are killed in the real world, they retreat to their throne world and can return after a time. Only death occurring in their own throne world is a true, final death in terms of the Hive. It appears that dying in another's throne world is reversible, as illustrated in the Books of Sorrow, where Oryx resurrects his sisters having killed them both within his throne world.<ref name="Carved in Ruin"/> It is likely this was possible because the sisters had already established their own throne worlds.<ref name="The High War" /> Furthermore, the manner in which Oryx brings his sisters back is very particular - he does it by defining their nature through acts of war and cunning. At another point Xivu Arath calls him back from the Deep (where she and Savathûn have trapped him) in a similar manner, through describing him,<ref>'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King - Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow, [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow#XXXV: This Love Is War|XXXV: This Love Is War]]''</ref> and millennia later Savathûn summons Xivu Arath to [[Torobatl]] through an act of "war and blood".<ref name="New Gods"/> Another example of a Hive dying in another's throne world and then coming back is [[Ir Yût, the Deathsinger]]; being one of the bosses of Crota's End, she dies in [[Oversoul Throne|his throne world]] but can be later seen attending Crota's ritual of passing in the mission [[Last Rites]]. Crota's mate Omnigul is also notable for returning after having been killed by Guardians, though the manner in which she "unmakes her death" is not elaborated upon.<ref name="Will of Crota"/>

Though most of the Hive pantheon seem to be Ascendant, it is hard to define the exact rules of achieving this status. [[Lore:Inquisition of the Damned|Inquisition of the Damned]] notes that the Daughters of Crota have not reached it, maybe due to the miserable state the [[Hidden Swarm]] had been in ever since Crota's death.<ref name="Inquisition I.I">'''Bungie (2019/10/1)''', ''Destiny 2: Shadowkeep - Lore:Inquisition of the Damned, [[Lore:Inquisition_of_the_Damned#I.I: Of Tattered Blood and Broken Bone|I.I: Of Tattered Blood and Broken Bone]]''</ref> [[Hiraks, the Mindbender]] managed to carve out a small throne world thanks to the power murdering [[Cayde-6]] provided him, but his mate [[In Anânh, Brood Queen|In Anânh]] is yet to be seen coming back from beyond the grave.<ref name="Mindbender"/> Savathûn's daughters [[Balwûr]] and [[Dûl Incaru, the Eternal Return|Dûl Incaru]] are noted having some protection from dying (with Balwûr's death being "hidden well", according to Oryx<ref name="Balwur">'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King -  Grimoire:Enemies/Exalted Hive, [[Grimoire:Enemies/Exalted_Hive#Balw.C3.BBr|Balwûr]]''</ref>), but there is no information whether her other child [[Malok, Pride of Oryx|Malok]] or Oryx's twin daughters [[Ir Anûk, Deathsinger|Ir Anûk]] and [[Ir Halak, Deathsinger|Ir Halak]], the inventors of the death-hiding technique in the first place,<ref name="partition" /> had some sort of a throne world or an [[Oversoul]] too.

There are other ways of protecting oneself from death besides having a throne world - the aforementioned Oversoul is one of them. Ir Anûk and Ir Halak invented a way of hiding one's death within this construct so that one can die only after the Oversoul have been destroyed.<ref name="partition" /> The Oversouls are often kept within throne worlds, as it was in the case of both Oryx and Crota. Members of the [[Court of Oryx]] are described as having their deaths hidden in various other ways: [[Kagoor]] hid hers within her skill of creating and commanding Ogres,<ref name="Kagoor">'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King - Grimoire:Enemies/The Taken, [[Grimoire:Enemies/The Taken#Kagoor|Kagoor]]''</ref> [[Krughor]] in [[Cursed Thrall]] he would send forth into battle,<ref name="Krughor">'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King - Grimoire:Enemies/Exalted_Hive, [[Grimoire:Enemies/Exalted Hive#Krughor|Krughor]]''</ref> and the sisters [[Zyrok Däl]], [[Alzok Däl]] and [[Gornuk Däl]] in each other.<ref name="Dal sisters">'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King - Grimoire:Enemies/Exalted Hive,  [[Grimoire:Enemies/Exalted Hive#Alzok Däl, Gornuk Däl, Zyrok Däl|Alzok Däl, Gornuk Däl, Zyrok Däl]]''</ref>

Other than Nokris' necromancy, other blasphemous acts of defying death could be seen in the [[adventure]] [[Deathless]] on [[Titan (moon)|Titan]], where [[Savathûn's Brood]] repeatedly killed and resurrected [[Takul-Dar, the Unbreakable]],<ref>'''Bungie (2017/8/9)''', ''Destiny 2 - [[Deathless]]''</ref> and the story of [[Hashladûn, Daughter of Crota|Hashladûn]] and her sisters trying to bring back Oryx.<ref name="Heretic"/>

'''[[The Witness]]''', the First Knife, original master and creator of the [[Taken]], and the entity controlling the Hive and Worm Gods through the deeds of [[Rhulk, Disciple of the Witness|Rhulk]].<ref>'''Bungie (2022/2/22)''', ''Destiny 2: The Witch Queen - Item Description: [[Resonant Fury Suit#Resonant Fury Helm|Resonant Fury Helm]]''</ref>  

*Alak-Tal<ref name="Fourth Mark">'''Bungie (2020/11/10)''', ''Destiny 2: Season of the Hunt - Item Description: [[The Fourth Mark#Lore|The Fourth Mark]]''</ref>

*Ir Kithana, Preceptor<ref>'''Bungie (2025/2/4)''', ''Destiny 2: Episode: Heresy - Item Description: [[Unworthy]]''</ref>

Hive "technology" is esoteric and often bio-mechanical, constructed or grown from organic materials like bone or chitin. Through signs and incantations, the Hive are able to channel the Darkness, and through this magic, they can contend with the conventional technology of other species on equal or greater footing. According to [[Fynch]], old Hive structures decay into literal skeletons; everything the Hive use, from their weapons, ships and buildings, were all once things the Hive enslaved and twisted into a useful shape.<ref>'''Bungie (2022/2/22)''', ''Destiny 2: The Witch Queen - [[Fynch]]: [[Patrol/Dialogue#Hive Ruin|"It's a skeleton of an old structure. Literally. Everything the Hive use — weapons, ships, buildings — it's all things they enslave and twist into a useful shape."]]''</ref> This fact is also supported by Eris, who mentions that Oryx has prisoners tortured and then renders them down into chitin for his Dreadnaught,<ref name="TSC"/> as well as by Toland, who theorised that the giant creatures, whose bones can be found on the Moon, were used by the Hive to burrow into the lunar rock to create the Hellmouth.<ref>'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King - Ghost scan: [[Ghost_scan#Ocean_of_Storms.2C_the_Moon|MN-CON-3]]''</ref> As Hive systems are biological constructs, a biological password, found in such as the limb or head of a high-ranking Hive member that's bio-coded to the systems and each contains parts of the bio-codes, is needed to access them.<ref>'''Bungie (2025/2/4)''', ''Destiny 2: Episode: Heresy - [[Mission Dossier: Hive Hacking, Cultist's Limb]]''</ref><ref>'''Bungie (2025/2/4)''', ''Destiny 2: Episode: Heresy - [[Mission Dossier: Hive Hacking, Lightsinger's Limb]]''</ref><ref>'''Bungie (2025/2/4)''', ''Destiny 2: Episode: Heresy - [[Mission Dossier: Hive Hacking, Blade Navigator's Head]]''</ref> It has been stated in [[Lore:Truth to Power|Truth To Power]] that Hive computers, such as [[The World's Grave]], are "small singularity computers" that use actual Black Holes, as they are the densest possible computers in the physical universe, as well as the most secure since they can be made to retain their information until they evaporate in the deep cosmic future.<ref name="a-c-r"/> However, as the whole document with this info was likely written by Savathûn to generate [[Imbaru]] and gain power in and move into a higher "parent universe",<ref>'''[[The Hidden Dossier]]''', "[[The Hidden Dossier#CONSFACDORB JALAAL >> VANCINCLOCK IKORA REY|CONSFACDORB JALAAL >> VANCINCLOCK IKORA REY]]"</ref> the veracity of this particular fact is deeply suspect.

Hive tend to use physical chains with Runes to lock doors, and recently, energy barriers powered by Soulfire crystals. Hive Runes have various meanings that the Hive can use to tap into different dimensions, either as a doorway to another location or as a source of power. These dimensions hold no distinction between a word and its meaning, and in cases where the Hive erode the barrier between these dimensions and our own, the Hive rune for "death" can bring literal death to others.<ref>'''Bungie (2017/8/9)''', ''Destiny 2 - Ghost scan: [[Ghost scan#New_Pacific_Arcology.2C_Titan|TM-FH-2]]''</ref> Chains with these Runes cannot be broken physically. Runes can be "hacked" and cause the chains to disintegrate, though it is considered incredibly difficult to do so; a triptych of Runes is said to be "uncrackable". Ghosts can hack Hive Runes, but it takes them time.<ref>'''Bungie (2014/9/9)''', ''Destiny - [[The Summoning Pits]]''</ref> Some Rune-locked doors, however, can only be broken using a Hive item known as a [[Tomb Husk]]. Hive crystals are structures powered by, or made of, Soulfire, an energy implied to be emitted by souls themselves. Hive crystals are used as power sources either for rituals or, more commonly, for maintaining barriers, whether to guard entrances or to shield a particular Hive from attack. Although the exact mechanism behind the barriers and crystals is unknown, a cutoff comment by [[Clovis Bray I]] has him believe that the barriers are some form of emitted [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casimir_effect Casimir field], though Ana mutes his communications link before he can bloviate further.<ref>'''Bungie (2022/12/06)''', ''Destiny 2: Season of the Seraph - [[Operation: Diocles]]''</ref>

Hive have access to several forms of teleportation, from simple materialising and de-materialising from seemingly dust, to climbing out of shallow pools of water. The most iconic of them are "Ruptures";<ref name="LtL">'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King - [[Lost to Light]]''</ref><ref>'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King - Ghost scan: [[Ghost scan#Dreadnaught.2C_Rings_of_Saturn|DNT-TAS-2]]''</ref> dimensional portals to different parts of space, or even new "spaces" in other dimensions such as the [[Ascendant Realm]] or the [[Vex Network]],<ref name="partition"/> caused by cutting a wound into the flesh of space itself,<ref>'''Bungie (2014/9/9)''', ''Destiny - Grimoire:Enemies/[[Grimoire:Enemies/Hive Arsenal|Hive Aresenal]], [[Grimoire:Enemies/Hive Arsenal#Tomb Ship|Tomb Ship]]''</ref> which they use for interstellar travel. These wounds can be performed either by use of the Sword Logic,<ref name=Incision/><ref>'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King - Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow, [[Grimoire:Enemies/Books of Sorrow#XIII: Into the Sky|XIII: Into The Sky]]''</ref> through Soulfire rifts,<ref>'''Bungie (2022/12/06)''', ''Destiny 2: Season of the Seraph - Item Description: [[Disparity#Lore|Disparity]]''</ref> whatever method is employed by Tombships, or through Hive statues that are used to both activate and navigate through Ruptures. According to Eris Morn, however, only an Ascendant can will a Rupture to open,<ref>'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King - [[Enemy of My Enemy]]''</ref> and only Ascendant Hive can move through them;<ref name="LtL"/> a Rupture can sense if a being holds an Ascendant's soul<ref>'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King - [[Regicide]]''</ref> and will repulse any who do not possess one. There exists another method: a turbine known as a "Dimensional Lock", which allows Oryx to move between dimensions. Crota also appears to have one in his Throne World. According to scans, the place the lock is kept along with everything in said place only exists in one realm as long as the turbine is stationary.<ref>'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King - Ghost scan: [[Ghost scan#Ocean_of_Storms.2C_the_Moon|MN-OST-1]]''</ref>

Some known Hive materials include [[Hadium Flake|Hadium]], which is a reactive crystal that stores any energy it is exposed to, [[Wormspore]], a concentrated transmutation catalyst that reacts to both the Light and the Darkness, and [[Moldering Shard]]s. [[Osmium]] holds a certain significance to the Hive due to their early years on [[Fundament]], seemingly a precious component for certain rituals, and a variant found scattered within Savathun's Throne World known as [[Fundamental Osmium]] is described as a super-dense transition metal with paracausal traces made from supernovae and dead stars that was taken from Fundament.<ref>'''Bungie (2022/2/22)''', ''Destiny 2: The Witch Queen - [https://www.ishtar-collective.net/interactions/evidence-board-hard-evidence| Evidence Board - Hard Evidence]''</ref><ref>'''Bungie (2022/2/22)''', ''Destiny 2: The Witch Queen - [https://www.ishtar-collective.net/items/hard-evidence-step-4| Evidence Board - Hard Evidence Step 4]''</ref> There also exists a filament that's said by Fynch to be a metamaterial capable of soaking up everything from vibration to EM radiation; an "all in one" passive scanner.<ref>'''Bungie (2022/2/22)''', ''Destiny 2: The Witch Queen - Fynch: [[Patrol/Dialogue#Filament|"Oh, that filament — it's like a metamaterial. Soaks up everything from EM radiation to vibration. Now that? Yeah, that is a neat "all in one" little passive scanner."]]''</ref> Other examples of Hive inventions mentioned by Fynch include a Hive torch that may be used to broadcast signals by pulsing exotic radiation in a cycle,<ref>'''Bungie (2022/2/22)''', ''Destiny 2: The Witch Queen - Fynch: [[Patrol/Dialogue#Filament|"So, it's a Hive torch, yeah? But it's pulsing exotic radiation on a predictable cycle. Yeah, it's out there, but I'm thinking it's a broadcast."]]''</ref> a "boson impactor" that can be used as a bomb,<ref>'''Bungie (2022/2/22)''', ''Destiny 2: The Witch Queen - Fynch: [[Patrol/Dialogue#Filament|"Huh, the thermal signature's holding — oh! Whoa, whoa, whoa — that's a boson impactor, like a — like a bomb! So let's just look, but don't touch, yeah?"]]''</ref> and a difficult-to-make adhesive mixed with a "morta-toxin" - an exotic poison that affects Hive.<ref>'''Bungie (2022/2/22)''', ''Destiny 2: The Witch Queen - Fynch: [[Patrol/Dialogue#Florescent Outpost|"Ah, so it's adhesive. Mixed with traces of what looks like a morta-toxin — that's an exotic poison that affects the Hive. Super hard to make… I imagine."]]''</ref> An unknown type of stone is used in the construction of Hive [[Tombship]]s,<ref>'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King - Item Description: [https://www.ishtar-collective.net/items/fused-tomb-stone Fused Tomb-Stone]''</ref> along with their structures like their combat arenas; [[Toland]] questions if the stones have a strengthening function or are merely used as a legacy of a forgotten time.<ref>'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''Destiny: The Taken King - Ghost scan: [[Ghost scan#Ocean_of_Storms.2C_the_Moon|MN-CON-2]]''</ref>

The Hive have taken an interest in fusing their own dark understanding with Humanity's mastery of war. The most well-known of these are the [[Weapons of Sorrow]]; initially created by the Hive themselves and later adopted by Humans who studied Hive arcana. While the Hive had uncovered this arcana of Ghost-killers from [[Xyor, the Unwed|Xyor, the Betrothed]] and [[Enkaar, the Anointed]],<ref> '''Bungie (2018/12/4)''', ''Destiny 2: Season of the Forge - [[The Draw]]''</ref> they would not adapt it to their conventional weaponry with Savathûn citing the process as "distasteful" to them.<ref> '''Bungie (2022/2/22)''', ''Destiny 2: The Witch Queen - Lore:Lucent Tales, [[Lore:Lucent Tales#Immaru|Immaru]]''</ref>

*Ripper<ref>'''Bungie (2024/6/24)''', ''Destiny 2: [[Episode: Echoes]] - Lore:[[Lore:Dynasty|Dynasty]], [[Lore:Dynasty#Chapter 1 - A Step Leads. A Step Follows.|Chapter 1 - A Step Leads. A Step Follows.]]''</ref>

*According to Osiris, the Hive are known to constantly adapt and evolve, generating new mutations as effortlessly as breathing.<ref>'''Bungie (2017/12/5)''', ''Destiny 2: [[Curse of Osiris]] - [[Bug in the System]]''</ref>