Editing Rise of the Imperium

{{References}}
{{Conjectural title}}
{{Battle infobox
|prev=[[Skirmish on Kepler]]
|conc=
|next=
|image=[[File:Renegades.jpg|350px]]
|conflict=Prophecy Crisis
|date=
|place=[[Mars]] <br> [[Europa]] <br> [[Venus]]
|result=
*The Barant Imperium is weakened
**Destruction of [[Nightfall Station]]
*The Pikers, the Totality Division, and Tharsis Reformation struggle for supremacy
*Eido and Aunor reveal the truth about the crisis Earth is facing as a result of III's death to the denizens of the Last City
*Lodi discovers a potential solution to the crisis from IV
**He discovers that the coordinates IV provided him is in a subterranean network beneath Chicago
*The Praxic Order temple on Venus is secured from the Barant Imperium forces
*The identity of the Taken's new leader is revealed
|side1=;Humanity
*[[Vanguard]]
*[[Praxic Order]]
*[[House of Spider]]
|side2=;Cabal
*[[Barant Imperium]]
**[[Totality Division]]
|side3=;Others
*[[Pikers|Piker Gang]]
----
*[[Tharsis Reformation]]
|commanders1=;Vanguard
*[[Drifter]]
*[[Eris Morn]]
----
;Allies
*[[Eido]]
*[[Spider]]
*[[Aunor Mahal]]
*[[Lodi]]
|commanders2=
;Barant Imperium
*[[Dredgen Bael]]
**[[Bracus Lume, Coalition Ally|Premier Lume]]
**[[Dredgen Sere]]

;Totality Division
*[[Enforcer Rao]]
**[[Armorer Aghol]]
|commanders3=
;Piker Gang
*[[Boss Riliks]]
**[[Mechanic Deoriks]]
----
;Tharsis Reformation
*[[Zephyrus, Autonomous Mind]]
**[[Reformancer Guzheng]]
|forces1=
*[[Guardian]]s
|forces2=
*Countless Cabal
|forces3=
*Countless Eliksni
----
*Countless Vex
|casual1=*Dozens of Guardians and Ghosts stationed at Tharsis Outpost
|casual2=*Dredgen Sere
*Harrow
*Thousands of Cabal
|casual3=
*Thousands of Eliksni
----
*Thousands of Vex
|civilian=
}}

The '''Rise of the Imperium''' is a conflict that occurred between the forces allied with the [[Vanguard]], the syndicates congregating within the [[Tharsis Junction|Tharsis Outpost]], and the [[Barant Imperium]].   

==Prelude==
===Rise of Dredgen Bael===
[[Dredgen Bael]], who was known as Nazaire Bizet prior to his ascent as a Dredgen,<ref>'''Bungie (2025/12/2)''', ''[[Destiny 2]]: [[Renegades]] - Item Description: [[Shrewd Survivor Suit#Shrewd Survivor Grips/Gauntlets/Gloves|Shrewd Survivor Grips/Gauntlets/Gloves]]''</ref> was born to a father who was a [[Tex Mechanica]] magnate named [[Cesar Bizet]]. After his mother's death, Nazaire was raised by his father, but he was always busy with work at Tex Mechanica and became cold as a result. After seeing his mother raised as a Guardian and subsequently learning that his mother didn't remember him, Nazaire began to condemn the [[Light]],<ref>'''Bungie (2025/12/2)''', ''Destiny 2: Renegades - [[Lore]]:[[Lore:Sintering|Sintering]], [[Lore:Sintering#Entry 2: What Mother|Entry 2: What Mother]]''</ref> and delved into texts forbidden by the denizens of the [[Last City]], including those from the [[Binary Star Cult]], the [[Shadows of Yor]]'s Understandings of the 7th Book of Sorrow, and Twin Bird, the latter of which Nazaire briefly idolized as his master.<ref>'''Bungie (2025/12/2)''', ''Destiny 2: Renegades - Lore:Sintering, [[Lore:Sintering#Entry 3: A Hierarchy of Pain|Entry 3: A Hierarchy of Pain]]''</ref> He would also strike up a friendship with [[Bracus Lume, Coalition Ally|Bracus Lume]], who was still serving within the [[Imperial Cabal]].<ref>'''Bungie (2025/12/2)''', ''Destiny 2: Renegades - Lore:Sintering, [[Lore:Sintering#Entry 1: The Engine of History|Entry 1: The Engine of History]]''</ref> Lume was deployed to the [[Derelict Leviathan]] to assist [[Empress Caiatl]] in her struggle to overcome the [[Nightmare of Dominus Ghaul]]<ref>'''Bungie (2022/6/21)''', ''Destiny 2: [[Season of the Haunted]] - [[Sever - Rage]]''</ref><ref>'''Bungie (2022/6/28)''', ''Destiny 2: Season of the Haunted - [[Sever - Resolve]]''</ref> prior to his later deployment to deal with the [[Hive]] within [[Court of Savathûn|Savathûn's Throne World]], where he would suffer a grievous wound that left Hive shrapnel lodged in his chest.<ref>'''Bungie (2025/12/2)''', ''Destiny 2: Renegades - Lore:Sintering, [[Lore:Sintering#Entry 1: The Engine of History|Entry 1: The Engine of History]]''</ref> When Lume was dishonorably discharged from his military service,<ref name="PV">'''Bungie (2025/12/2)''', ''Destiny 2: Renegades - Item Description: [[Praxic Vestment#Lore|Praxic Vestment]]''</ref> he began to believe that Caiatl was putting her allegiance to the [[The Coalition|Coalition]] above her interest in retaking [[Torobatl]].<ref name="Imperium">'''Bungie (2025/12/2)''', ''Destiny 2: Renegades - [[Imperium]]''</ref>

Lume would defect from the Imperial Cabal prior to the [[Invasion of Neptune]]<ref name="PV"/> and took some of the prototype technologies with him.<ref name="OitC">'''Bungie (2025/12/2)''', ''Destiny 2: Renegades - [[Out in the Cold]]''</ref> Meanwhile, Nazaire began to wield the [[Darkness]] and took on the mantle of Dredgen Bael. Together, Bael and Lume would build their forces in secret with Bael recruiting more Dredgens to his cause; Bracus Lume becoming Premier Lume; and them commanding a military that would one day be known as the [[Barant Imperium]].

===The Kepler Incident===
{{Main|Skirmish on Kepler}}
Following the [[Dire Emergence]], in which the [[Taken]] began to be commanded by a new will they had seemingly willed into existence,<ref>'''Bungie (2025/2/4)''', ''Destiny 2: [[Episode: Heresy]] - Lore:[[Lore:Songs of Descent|Songs of Descent]], [[Lore:Songs of Descent#Song for the Knife|Song for the Knife]]''</ref><ref>'''Bungie (2025/2/4)''', ''Destiny 2: Episode: Heresy - Lore:Songs of Descent, [[Lore:Songs of Descent#Waiting Song|Waiting Song]]''</ref> the [[The Guardian|Guardian]], [[Ikora Rey]] and the [[The Drifter|Drifter]] would receive an invitation from the [[The Nine|Nine]] that lead them to a planetoid in the [[Wikipedia:Oort cloud|Oort Cloud]], [[Kepler]].<ref>'''Bungie (2025/7/15)''', ''Destiny 2: [[The Edge of Fate]] - [[Mission: The Invitation]]''</ref> There, they would find [[Orin]], the former [[Emissary of the Nine]] who had quit her position, and [[Lodi]], an linguist of the [[Department of External Observation|DEO]] who had been pulled forward in time to become the new Emissary. As they worked to collect enough [[Strangelet Capsule]]s to stabilize the [[The Singularity|singularity]] at Kepler's center which threatened to consume the entire [[Sol System]], they would learn that the Nine had manipulated events to ensure they would be on Kepler, including orchestrating both the death of Ikora's former self, Dr. Nella Davis, and the resurrection of the Guardian. After the Nine held a council meeting where the Guardian was chosen as the Nine's fated Weapon and a stalemate was reached to select Lodi as the new Emissary, the Guardian would be sent to collect the final vote from III, the member of the Nine for [[Earth]]. By the time they had reached the heart of the singularity, they learned that III had been killed by [[Maya Sundaresh]], who used the [[Echo of Command]] to pull them into the third dimension. After temporarily resurrecting them using the Drifter's [[The Haul|Haul]], III revealed a prophecy: "Death ensures extinction. To survive, you must bind the Nine."<ref>'''Bungie (2025/7/15)''', ''Destiny 2: The Edge of Fate - [[The Message]]''</ref> The events that occurred on Kepler would be redacted by the Vanguard and the [[Praxic Order]].<ref name="Imperium"/>

With III's death, Earth began experiencing ecological anomalies as a consequence, which included portions of the Andes Mountains being converted into copper, the mangroves of Georgia becoming polluted with argon, unusual rain falling from the sky, underground mineral formations moving on their own, denizens of the Last City being afflicted with the "Caiatl cough", metals other than iron spontaneously magnetizing, etc. Meanwhile, VI began reaching out to Bael during his expedition into a Praxic Order temple on [[Europa]]. Bael accepts the voice<ref>'''Bungie (2025/12/2)''', ''Destiny 2: Renegades - Lore:Sintering, [[Lore:Sintering#Entry 5: A Conduit for All Futures|Entry 5: A Conduit for All Futures]]''</ref> and through the alliance, the prototype technologies Lume brought with him were completed through VI's time dilation ability.<ref name="OitC"/> VI would anoint Bael as its Weapon and he was later gifted the core which powered a superweapon with Eclipse energy called [[Nightfall Station]].

Meanwhile, after killing III, Maya's [[Echo (object)|Echo]] would be weakened and she began to lose control of her Vex. As such, she began pulling [[Red Legion]] from another timeline to assist her in stealing [[Warmind]] tech with the aim of creating a new Warsat network to replace the Echo.<ref>'''Bungie (2025/9/9)''', ''Destiny 2: [[Ash & Iron]] - [[Ash & Iron: Initialize]]''</ref> This would be stopped by the Guardian, Ikora and Lodi, who also managed to meet the AI who managed to retrieve his message from the [[Anomaly (Vesper)|Anomaly]] on [[Vesper Station]]; [[Astraea]], who told them that she is making her way to [[Neptune]] to reunite with [[Soteria]], who is now roaming Neomuna's [[CloudArk]] network.<ref>'''Bungie (2025/10/7)''', ''Destiny 2: [[Ash & Iron]] - [[Heliostat]]''</ref>

The Barant Imperium would make their first documented move by mugging Xûr for information on the Nine, which was documented by [[Aunor Mahal]].<ref>'''Bungie (2025/7/15)''', ''Destiny 2: [[Reclamation]] - Lore:[[Lore:As Without|As Without]], [[Lore:As Without#Treacherous Contacts|Treacherous Contacts]]''</ref> Lodi would work on finding a solution to the prophecy alongside Ikora.<ref name="Imperium"/> Eris Morn would discover the Barant Imperium threat from a secret communication between [[Kyung]] and Dr. [[Em Simoni-Lee]].<ref>'''Bungie (2025/9/9)''', ''Destiny 2: Ash & Iron - Item Description: [[Imperial Incubator#Lore|Imperial Incubator]]''</ref> They, along with the Guardian and [[Eido]], were selected by the Difter as his crew to pursue a vision he was shown by the Nine which ends in Eris's death and the Imperium spreading across the system.<ref name="Imperium"/>

==History==
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The crew had managed to steal the [[Encrypted Data Disk]] from the Imperium, which contained data on Nightfall Station. Unfortunately, the [[Zagan Gloriosus]] had managed to catch the the [[The Derelict|Derelict]], allowing Bael and Lume to board the ship and capture the Drifter. The Guardian would board the [[Cabal Carrier]] to rescue the Drifter. In the process, the crew discover the advanced technology used by the Imperium forces, including Ablative Armor and [[Behemoth (Vehicle)|Imperium Behemoth]]s. Aunor was able to disable the tractor beam holding the Derelict in place, allowing the crew to escape.<ref name="Imperium"/> They regroup at the [[Tharsis Junction|Tharsis Outpost]] and reunite with [[Spider]], who suggests that the Guardian gain the trust of the syndicates in order to weaken the Imperium's influence throughout [[Mars]], Europa, and [[Venus]]. They briefly ally with the [[Pikers|Piker Gang]], an atheist [[Fallen]] community led by [[Boss Riliks]]. They were able to repair [[Blue]] and retrieve the [[Splicer Shank (Renegades)|Splicer Shank]] before the Barant Imperium blows up Spider's barge. Drifter decides to go AWOL, but afterwards, the power of [[Eclipse]] energy was used on Tharsis Outpost, killing Guardians and [[Ghost]]s.

The Guardian gains the trust of [[Tharsis Reformation]], a newly-formed [[Vex]] collective who defected from the Nessian Schism and led by [[Zephyrus, Autonomous Mind]], while Eris would attempt to open a line of communication to VI to get answers. She was forced to consult with Lodi after over 35 failed attempts and finally was able to open a line. They shared what they had learned to the Guardian: Bael was chosen by VI to be their foil in response to the Inner Orbits of the Nine, VII, and VIII anointing them as the Weapon and that the Outer Orbits had gifted Bael the Nightfall Station core which had anti-paracausal capabilities through the Eclipse energy. The Guardian makes their to the temple on Europa to recover the [[Praxic Blade]] before they gain the trust of the [[Totality Division]], a syndicate formed by [[Enforcer Rao]] to act as a safe haven for the [[Psion]]s and a platoon of Barant Imperium forces. They were able to secure a shuttle to Nightfall Station before regrouping with Drifter on Venus. While he was there, him and Bael were speaking and then the latter began expressing doubts of his loyalty to VI. However, Bael set them up and attacked the Drifter when the Guardian came to them once they had disabled the defenses protecting Nightfall Station. The Guardian pursued the Barant Imperium to the carrier, fought Premier Lume, and destroyed Nightfall Station. Bael and Lume fled afterwards, and the syndicates began to struggle for supremacy.

Aunor would later tell the Guardian to make their way to a Praxic Order temple on Venus. After managing to disable the Imperium's antennas through the shadow ability, the Guardian boards a [[Harvester]] that was heading for the [[Malphas Contemptus]]. They would encounter a [[Cabal|Barant]] Dredgen in training: [[Harrow, Dredgen-Apprentice]]. This Dredgen was able to convert a pair of Praxic Blades into [[Weapons of Sorrow]] and trained under his master, [[Dredgen Sere]]. The Guardian defeats the Dredgen apprentice and continues to explore the carrier. They would face off against Dredgen Sere and defeat him with their mastery of the shadow ability. Aunor reveals that Dredgen Sere has created a [[Ascendant Realm|throne world]]  and instructs the Guardian to recover the artifacts that have been stolen by the Dredgens. Once they have recovered all of the artifacts, they were able to light the Praxic fire and report their success to Aunor.

==Aftermath==
The denizen of the Last City finally learned of the crisis Earth is now facing through a speech made by Eido and Aunor. Eris Morn reveals to the Drifter that the "Lord of Every Nothing" is the mysterious entity that the Taken has created to lead them. Lodi learns that the subterranean network beneath [[Chicago]] is the location that is key to the potential solution to bind the Nine once IV gave him the coordinates to the solution. Meanwhile, Astraea has arrived on Neptune to reunite with Soteria. Bael is also pursuing rumors pertaining a "king of Chicago" and the location of the Guardian's tomb.

==List of appearances==
*''[[Destiny 2]]'': ''[[Renegades]]'' {{1st}}

==References==
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[[Category:Conflicts]]