Praedyth

"You think of time as a constant companion. Right up until you are drowning in it. Suffused in time, shivering under the glare of the conflux. Then you will know what I know. Time is a predator. And it cannot be sated."

- File 34543 from Praedyth's Ghost

Praedyth was a Warlock who had been part of Kabr's fireteam during their assault on the Vault of Glass. Praedyth himself was believed to be a myth; Praedyth's Timepiece and Praedyth's Revenge were the only pieces of evidence of his existence until the Vanguard discovered a message coming from the Vault.

His fate is explored in the Story Mission Paradox. After fighting through Taken, the Guardian discovers Praedyth's corpse, long dead, trapped deep within the Vault of Glass. However there is evidence that in another timeline or reality or even in an isolated space Praedyth lives.

If a secret area in the Paradox mission is triggered as the Daily Heroic, it is revealed that Praedyth still exists across alternate time streams, and that he originally worked for the Future War Cult using a custom made Ghost shell, known to players as the Intrusion Shell. His spirit implies that he was one of the first Guardians to discover Oryx's power to Take through what would eventually become his transcendent powers, as she (his Ghost) claims she saw the Darkness "wear a Fallen Captain like clothes," implying that it was Taken.

Trapped in the Vault
Praedyth, seemingly imprisoned by the Vex, tried his best to evade them and survive, which he managed while frequently creating messages in hopes someone would receive them. In these messages he detailed who he was, and his journey with Pahanin and Kabr, claiming The Vault had taken it's toll on them, with Pahanin talking to himself, and Kabr becoming "intense at time." While in The Vault, he took notice of The Taken approaching the heart of The Vault to take control of the Vex's Collective, which we later thwart in a story mission. His time in The Vault ended when he heard the Vex "Closing the door." After this, he tragically cries out claiming he lived, and was a real person within The Vault, already understanding his fate. He was erased from the timeline, (presumably by The Gorgons,) and warped to be, as we learn from Ikora, a myth and a mere footnote in history books.

An Uncertain Fate
Several centuries later, Praedtyh's messages escaped The Vault, and reached the Vanguard. Ikora sends us on a mission to The Vault to stop the Taken detailed in Praedyth's messages. While in The Vault, we track the signal from the messages to find a skeleton with a faint signature of Light. This is assumed to be Praedyth, however considering the nature of The Vault of Glass, it is possible Praedyth is kept within his own dimension created by the Vex, or inhabits different timelines, giving the Warlock a bit of hope.

Quotes

 * "Praedyth's fall isn't over… because it hasn't happened yet… and it will happen again."
 * "He skipped like a stone on time's ocean. This is what's left." - Unknown
 * "So the Vex have predicted their own annihilation. When did they believe this would happen? Can calculations of minds the size of planets be wrong?"
 * "I had a friend, back at the Tower. she used to say. 'Praedyth, there's always room in the back of the mind for hope. It's the crack that let's the light in.' The Vex have no hope. No imagination, no drive, no fear. All they have is the Pattern. Everything must fit. If it can be made to fit, good. If it can't, it gets cut away."*
 * "They think this is the end of them, a path with no escape. And yet here they are, and there they were, and there they will be, and there they will have been. For them, there is no paradox. There is only the pattern. And the pattern needs the Vex to see it to completion. And so the Vex must be. For the mind of the Vex, is that faith?"
 * "Welcome to the end of the Vex. Their "immutable" future. Enslaved to a will they don't understand. A will long dead here. Dead eons ago. But then they won't end, will they? Because you're here."
 * "The Vex won't spare the City. They won't even thank you. But that's the thing about Light. You never know where it will shine."

Trivia

 * In one Quest Item, Talk to Lakshmi-2, Praedyth states he can see, in every single Vex timeline, the Exo Stranger.
 * In the Grimoire card No Time To Explain it is indicated Praedyth built it based on his observation of the Exo Stranger's rifle and sent it adrift in time.

List of appearances

 * Destiny
 * The Taken King
 * Destiny 2
 * Forsaken
 * Shadowkeep