The Witness

"We have seen enough. The children of Sol cry out for salvation. You promised them life, but deliver only death, as you have to so many before. Enough. Enough death. Enough life. You have no pieces left to place. The game is over."

- The Witness

The Witness is an individual who appears to be the leader of the Black Fleet. They are described by Savathûn, the Witch Queen as a "child of the Darkness," and seem to act as its foremost representative in the physical universe.

Overview
The Witness is a tall, pale-skinned humanoid entity. Most of its features are obscured by its metallic robe-like clothing, which constantly ripples and shifts seemingly of its own accord. Among its most notable features is a column of white “smoke” that continually issues from the top of its head, which forms a multitude of humanoid faces as it spreads and dissipates. Its true face is partially concealed, but it can be seen to have large, dark eyes and a rectangular pattern of gray lines on its brow and forehead.

At times the Witness leaves a series of “afterimages” of itself while in motion; for example, when moving its arms, multiple ghostly silhouettes of its arms will repeat the gesture after a delay. The significance of this is unknown, but may be related to its apparent time- and reality-manipulation abilities.

Biography
The history of the Witness is almost totally unknown. What is known is that it has existed for billions of years, as it was present during the rise of the Hive on Fundament. Indeed, it played a key role in the ascension of the Hive by telepathically communicating with the young Sathona via her Worm familiar, telling her that the Osmium Court was in imminent danger of destruction by a tidal wave generated by a syzygy. In reality, there was no such danger: the Witness merely wanted to claim the Hive as servants of the Darkness and sought to turn them away from the Traveler, which was present in orbit around Fundament and would likely have uplifted the Hive itself if given the chance.

Billions of years later, the Awoken Queen Mara Sov encountered the Witness beyond the heliopause of the Sol system.

List of appearances

 * Destiny 2: The Witch Queen