Taranis

"I don't have time to explain why I don't have time to explain."
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Taranis
Biographical information
Other name(s):	Taranis Rivensmate
Species:	Ahamkara
Gender:	Male
Political and military information
Notable info:	Sacrificed himself to scatter Riven's clutch in order to protect them.

Taranis was an Ahamkara and the mate of Riven.

Biography

Taranis was born without the presence of the sire and dam that created him, as his first meal was the shell of the egg he was hatched from. He would then learn the ways of hunting from the Ahamkara elders. As he grows, he begins his first hunt on Mars by using the wishes of a female Cabal soldier to relax for one day without giving up on her patrol duties. He would manipulate her wish creating a sandstorm that shrouded the firebase, then hunt her. He would then stop by Venus and discover the presence of the Eliksni scavengers and Lightbearers. He followed the Lightbearer holding a pale lantern, whilst the other 11 Lightbearers engaged with the Vex and Psions. The Lightbearer, Albios, had no desires, so Taranis could not help him and left Venus.

Taranis eventually discovers the Black Garden and claims a portion of it as his lair. He then follows a path towards the Awoken stronghold covered in jewels: the Dreaming City. Upon arriving in the Dreaming City through the Spine of Keres, he would meet his future mate, Riven, when she pins him down with a huge claw, inquiring about his presence in her lair. After some time bonding with Riven in the Divalian Mists and meeting Gwilym, Taranis finally invites her to visit his lair in the Black Garden. She accepts the invitation. Together, they would begin forging a bridge between their lairs inside the Black Garden and the Dreaming City and produce whims, with Taranis serving the role of a dam and Riven serving the role of a sire.

However, by the time the Great Ahamkara Hunt was commenced by the Lightbearers, now called Guardians, Taranis disobeyed Riven's order to stay out of the Dreaming City and visits the corpse of Azirim. Azirim warned Taranis of the potential end of their species, so Taranis visited Gwilym. Gwilym betrays Taranis's trust as he sends in a Corsair to hunt him down, citing an incident where Azirim tricked the Corsairs into falling down a cliff within the Gardens of Esila. However, Taranis escapes his fate by changing his form into a dragonfly By the end of the Great Hunt, they would become separated physically and become the last of their kind along with the clutch they produced.

As Taranis returns to the Dreaming City one last time, he learns that Riven has begun to conspire with Oryx and later Savathûn. The eggs within the Dreaming City became corrupted with Taken energies as part of Riven's bargain with the Taken King. Upon returning to the Black Garden, Taranis would make a noble sacrifice to scatter the uncorrupted clutch. The wish to scatter the clutch came at the cost of his final wish to be enacted. He would also bequeath a Bow as the final instruction to ensure the survival of his species: the Wish-Keeper. The Guardian discovers his corpse as they recover the clutch so Riven can grant the 15th wish: a wish to bypass the portal created by the Witness into the Pale Heart of the Traveler. Riven would become shocked at Taranis's fate. She instructs them to keep Wish-Keeper to honor Taranis's legacy to protect the whims from the Witness's attempt to enact the Final Shape. After uncovering the celestial anomalies throughout the Dreaming City and the Black Garden, the Guardian uncovers more of the relationship between Riven and Taranis. The Guardian finally uncovers the truth once they enter a portal next to Taranis's corpse: they uncover a symbol of the Ishtar Collective built with Vex architecture.

Trivia

• Taranis is named after the god of lightning in Celtic mythology.

Appearance

• Destiny 2: Season of the Wish (First appearance)