Sword Logic

"The sword binds wielder to victim. It binds life to death."

- Toland, the Shattered

The Sword Logic is the guiding religious principle of the Hive. Most of our information comes from the Hive religious text known as the Books of Sorrow and scattered pieces of arcana from Toland's journal.

Overview
As the antithesis to Light, the Sword Logic is best described as the totality and pinnacle of existence and as a "queen of armies". It dictates both the destruction of everything which cannot protect itself against defeat, and the establishment of a systematic, self-proving civilizational structure which can withstand annihilation, often refered to as the "Last True Shape" of the universe. In short, it can be described as a survival-of-the-fittest ideology taken to an incredible extreme. It is not enough to merely defeat enemies, but also to consume their power. All power must be taken by force, not received as a gift. This is why it is a mistake to categorize it as a morality system; the Sword Logic is amoral and self-serving, a meritorious system which dictates the rise and fall of its user by the right of force.

This is what has built the entire Hive civilization and its very hierarchy. Each lesser Hive must prove itself to become greater, or risk annihilation. This holds true for every Hive, from the tiny Thrall to the Ascendant Hive god-kings, including Oryx and his sisters. Even the Worm Gods are not exempt, as evidenced by Oryx slaying Akka to gain an audience with the Darkness itself. As a byproduct of the pact made with the Worm Gods, when a Hive grows stronger from the killing of lesser life-forms (referred to as "cellular automata") and those which follow the dictates of the Light and the Darkness, so does its internal worm's lust for killing, meaning that unless it is fed enough the worm will eventually consume its host.

The Leviathan knew of the Sword Logic and claimed that it led to ruin and damnation for all who followed its path; in contrast the Darkness (and Toland ) claimed that it was a beautiful thing, majestic and noble, and that all life should abide by this self-proving law for this was the natural way of the universe. However there are implications that it destroys the soul and integrity of the practitioner, rendering them into an entirely different creature that would horrify themselves if they could view it objectively. Indeed, even Savathûn, who convinced Oryx originally to find the Worms, expresses doubt as to the validity of their crusade.

The Sword Logic can, in rare cases, resurrect a Hive god which has been killed in the Ascendant plane, as long as the one which killed them kills according to their geas, that is their inherent nature which binds them to the worm.

Tribute system
Using the table above we might be able to construct the tribute system the Hive use, with allowances made for those excluded. Those who have grown enough from their cunning or strength without being killed will ascend to the next artificial stage of the Hive evolution. If they do not feed their worm the Hive organism will be devoured from within by its own worm for lack of tribute.

The only thing unaffected are the Taken, as they are bound to the will of their master until he falls, and are without purpose. The Worm Gods are an anomaly in this system, for while it was Oryx who instituted the tribute system they are the center of it. It may be that the worms inside each Hive "tithe" to the Worms directly in addition to their servants. However they can be killed, as per the law of the Darkness.

Relations to other races
"The capture of Hive leadership might yield vital strategic intelligence, including weapons or tactics capable of defeating Guardians permanently."

- Ghost Fragment: Cabal 4

Vex
The Vex first learned of the Sword Logic when Crota accidentally cut open a portal into one of their sealed dimensions. At first they were confused, their models and projections clashing horribly with the physics of Oryx's throneworld, until they manifested Quria, Blade Transform who quickly discovered the source of the Hive's power. Realizing the paracausal nature of the Hive could be the key to Vex survival Quria organized a series of test invasions and began learning the Sword Logic from Crota and his sisters, the Deathsinger twins, while keeping the greater Vex collective updated and aware of the process.

Oryx eventually returned home and defeated the Vex, closing off Crota's portal after throwing his son through it, but not before acknowledging the Vex as a worthy foe. The Vex may have been exposed to the Sword Logic earlier than Crota's mishap, for Savathûn had known of them and had been the one behind Crota's "accident".

Cabal
The Cabal have little to no experience with the Sword Logic, having never engaged with the Hive in protracted combat except once on the Moon and knowing the Hive had weapons or tactics which effectively neutralized Guardian resurrection. Once the Skyburners Legion set foot upon the Dreadnaught they became beholden to the Sword Logic but failed to understand how to work it. Nonetheless with the defeat of Oryx, the Cabal contingent aboard the Dreadnaught have continued to hold out despite overwhelming losses.

Fallen
The Fallen have not been observed to adapt the Sword Logic to their tactics until the SIVA Crisis, when the Devil Splicers began experimenting with SIVA and transcended flesh  entirely. Though not wholly like the Hive and the Worm Gods, the Fallen's behavior is similar enough to the precepts of the Final Shape that they have comprehended a form of the Sword Logic. SIVA itself echoes the Sword Logic on a nanoscale, learning from what it adapts to itself.

The Guardians
In order to fully defeat the Hive god-kings on their own ground the Guardians tapped into the power of the Sword Logic and utilized it to topple divinity. However, unlike other species who encountered the Sword Logic, the Guardians did not carry through and claim their enemy's power. This infuriated Toland as he saw the raid team which killed Oryx and his Court leave without taking anything, meaning all that he had worked for was for naught. But this showed that the Sword Logic was a flawed philosophy, that it can be utilized partially without ill-effect, and thus Toland's analogy of three queens uniting together in a "gentle place ringed [with] spears" is indeed the correct one, and not the queen of armies.

The Taken
"I am Oryx, the Taken King. And I have the power to take life and make it my own."

- Oryx declaring his power after his first audience with the Darkness.

The Taken are corrupted members of various species the Hive have encountered and destroyed. First demonstrated against the Ecumene after Oryx communed with the Darkness, the Taken as a whole are described as a "paracausal ontopathogenic weapon" which infects the physical existence of an enemy and transforms them into compliant slaves, bound to the will of Oryx.

The Taken are essentially the direct arm of Oryx, killing to feed his worm, bypassing the Hive hierarchy and tribute system entirely. This method allows him to kill en mass, far more than his armies could do alone, even when outmatched. Nothing has shown resistance to being Taken except the Guardians, possibly because their Light-based origin is antithetical to reality-warping abilities gifted by the Darkness, and Ascendant Hive.

Trivia

 * The Sword Logic is very similar to the "might makes right" aphorism with several meanings. One is that a ruling elite determines what society views as right and wrong. Another is that whomever "labels what they think is good for [themselves] as right, only those who are able to defeat their enemies can push their idea of what is right into fruition".
 * According to William Montague, Kraterocracy (Gr. κρατερός, or krateros, meaning "strong") is a form of government ruled by those strong enough to have seized the reins of power through might or cunning. This is similar to how the Worms introduce Sword Logic to Auryx.

List of appearances

 * Destiny
 * The Dark Below
 * The Taken King
 * Rise of Iron