Ancients

"++WHO ARE YOU THAT BUILDS A HIDDEN CITY HERE IN OUR THOUGHTS?++"

- The Ancients to Mara Sov, speaking through three possessed Techeuns.

The Ancients are a group of powerful and mysterious entities known to the Awoken.

Overview
The nature of the Ancients is unclear, but they refer to themselves as being "the nothing-space fabric," and appear to be intimately connected to the space within which the Dreaming City is located.

History
The Ancients are known to have contacted Awoken civilization at least once, after the construction of the Dreaming City. On this occasion, they took possession of three Techeuns, including Kelda Wadj, and addressed Queen Mara Sov.

Trivia

 * The way that the speech of the Ancients is written down, with double "+" signs and capital letters is similar to how the Leviathan spoke with Aurash, Xi Ro and Sathona in the Books of Sorrow. This could indicate some connection between the two.
 * It is worth noting that the Leviathan's dialogue normally had double "-" signs (which the Ancients' dialogue did not use) at one end of a sentence, and two "+" signs at the other end; however, when it wanted to add emphasis to a statement, the signs would match on both ends. The Leviathan described this as a "monopole scream".
 * According to Shuro Chi, Techeuns wear crystals to augment their innate powers. Amethysts, in particular, are good for communing with the Ancients.
 * It is possible that the Ancients are in some way related to the Nine, given their similar abilities and speech.
 * While the Nine are all singular consciousnesses centered around eight planets and the Sun, it is possible that there could have been a tenth member: the mass of the asteroid belt that was broken up before it could form into a fifth terrestrial planet. When the Queen asks their identity, they chastise her for believing they are a singular speaker and note it is 'ekpyrosic', a term referring to the Stoic belief of Ekpyrosis in which the universe would be destroyed to make way for a new one. While the destruction of the belt prevented the formation of another singular being, the sheer mass of material could have created a collective of consciousnesses separate but not entirely distinct from those of the Nine.
 * The Ancients display extensive knowledge about the system and the paracausal entities within, the same as the Nine, offering it to the Awoken in the form of the Oracle Engine.

List of appearances

 * Destiny 2
 * Forsaken