Collapse

"There is no hope anymore. Only the screams of humanity."

- Henriette Meyrin during the Collapse.

The Collapse was a cataclysm in human history that nearly brought the species to extinction. Following the Golden Age, after mankind had colonized the Solar System, the Black Fleet attacked humanity and pushed it back to its homeworld, Earth.

Timeline of events
Immediately before the Collapse, an entity or group of entities were detected just beyond the edge of the Solar System, in what was termed a "TRANSIENT NEAR EXTRASOLAR EVENT"; later information suggests this was the Black Fleet entering the Sol System. The only means of determining that a transient event had even occurred was through the detection of a 0.3-second displacement of gravity waves, as well as anomalous interactions in the local Higgs field traced to sterile neutrino scattering. An AI observing the event, the Warmind Rasputin, was able to derive some information but was unable to ascertain its mechanism. Rasputin conducted an "Omnibus analysis" of the event's effects on local spacetime, measuring a wide range of data points including direction, distance, range, speed, and size as well as a comprehensive pattern analysis of the event itself. This last set of data showed, to a certainty of "9 Sigma", a definite and measurable pattern that had a complex, almost linguistic, structure that demonstrated both intelligence and intent.

Following the arrival of the phenomenon, natural disasters tore across the solar system. On Titan in particular, a gravitational anomaly deformed the shape of the moon, causing devastating methane tidal waves to wash the surface of the moon and shatter the arcologies. Scattered records exist of monstrous creatures and strangling miasmas of Darkness tormenting the people of Sol during the Black Fleet's assault.

In what semi-mythical accounts survived to the City Age, it is said the Traveler released a huge pulse of energy, driving back the forces of Darkness to the outer reaches of the system but entering a state of dormancy as a result. However, in reality, the Traveler was not solely responsible for driving away the Black Fleet: Savathûn, the Witch Queen betrayed the Disciple Nezarec, hid the Veil on Neptune, and apparently tricked the Witness into leaving the Sol System. Nezarec's remains would be left behind on the Moon, entombed within his own Pyramid for centuries after the Collapse.

After the Black Fleet was pushed back, the Traveler released countless Ghosts. These small beings would go on to find their chosen ones, imbuing them with the gift of Light. After this, the Traveler entered a comatose state while humanity entered the Dark Age.

List of appearances

 * Destiny
 * Destiny 2