Suraya Hawthorne

"We've had to survive without the Light all our lives."

- Suraya Hawthorne

Suraya Hawthorne is a human female sniper who left the Last City as a teenager to seek a new purpose. She has taken up residence in the newly established Farm in the European Dead Zone, working closely in conjunction with the Vanguard throughout the Red War. After the reclamation of the Last City, Hawthorne moved back to the City and took up residence in the Tower to serve as the overseer of Guardian clans while also providing a voice for the non-Guardian citizens of the City.

Early life
"But non-Guardians aren't supposed to leave the City!" "Here's the thing about City rules – they stop applying once you leave the City."

- The Ghost and Hawthorne

After being orphaned at a young age, Hawthorne was taken in by Devrim Kay and his partner, Marc. The two raised Hawthorne with care, emphasizing that she always be sure of herself, and to do what she thought was the right thing, always. Nevertheless, Hawthorne still felt trapped within the confines of the Last City's walls, as well as its rules. On many occasions, Hawthorne would get into trouble with the local law enforcement for fighting, often ending with Devrim bailing her out of jail. . She also resented the city factions- most notable New Monarchy- due to their exclusionary nature, and began stealing their supplies in spite of them to aid those in need.

On one such occasion, Hawthorne was caught in the act by Executor Hideo. She fled, but not before breaking his nose in response to a barrage of insults directed at her. Rather than wait for Hideo to have her exiled, it was there that Hawthorne decided to leave the City on her own volition. After expressing this desire to her guardians, the latter pair decided to leave with her. Hawthorne refused, not wanting them to uproot their lives due to the consequences of her choices. Eventually, Devrim and Marc agreed to stay, provided their adoptive daughter stay within proximity so they could visit.

Having come to an agreement, they devised an escape plan while Marc distracted Hideo. Afterward, Hawthorne remained close by for at least a year before venturing off to see the rest of the world. She survived on her own or in small groups, and at some point met her falcon companion, Louis. Hawthorne explored much of the European Dead Zone, although she kept her distance from the Shard of the Traveler.

Rallying in the EDZ
"We've got refugees coming in, the Red Legion on one side, the Fallen on the other -" "But we have our powers back. And if we're going to retake the City -" "Your City is GONE!"

- Hawthorne arguing with the Young Wolf's Ghost

While gathering supplies to take to the Last City, Hawthorne learned that it was under attack by the Cabal's Red Legion. Abandoning the supplies, she flew across the ocean to help, but the City had fallen and the Guardians had been stripped of their Light by a cage attached to the Traveler. Hawthorne began aiding survivors as they fled from the City and rallied them at the Farm in the European Dead Zone. One week after the fall of the City, Hawthorne was aiding survivors outside of Twilight Gap when she saw a Lightless Guardian fall from a nearby cliff. She went over and aided The Young Wolf back onto their feet, but a distant explosion cut their introductions short. Hawthorne ordered her people to get ready to move. The Guardian's Ghost questioned where they were going, and Hawthorne told them as far from the City as possible. Louis then swooped in and landed on her arm, and she introduced herself and Louis to the Guardian. She questioned if they were fit to fly and handed them her shotgun before remarking that it was time for the Guardian to make themselves useful. Hawthorne ordered her people to leave and prepare for the long flight home. As their ships reached the Farm, Hawthorne welcomed the Young Wolf to their new home, but the Guardian was more interested in the Shard of the Traveler they saw in the distance, which Hawthorne warned them was dangerous.

The number of refugees at the Farm made Suraya nervous, as she was used to living alone or with few people around. She met with the Young Wolf and informed them she would not stop them from investigating the Shard as she had too many other issues to deal with, but did provide them a ship, the Wanderwing, to reach the Shard faster and return quicker. When the Young Wolf reached the quarantine area, she contacted them and inquired if they were sure it was a good idea, as the Shard's corruption was what had turned the region into a Dead Zone. They insisted that the they had to, and Hawthorne mentioned she had avoided it herself despite exploring elsewhere in the EDZ. When Ghost reminds her of the City policy forbidding non-Guardians to leave, Hawthorne retorts by stating the City rules stop applying once one leaves. She directed them to a gap in the wall around the quarantine zone, but lost contact with the Guardian due to the corruption's interference. When the Guardian returned to the Farm, Hawthorne was pleased they had regained their Light and told them they would need it to help aid the scattered refugees fleeing the City. She asked them to meet Devrim Kay in the Dead Zone to help him set up a communications network that could spread word that the Farm was a safe haven for refugees.

Hawthorne placed a transmitter at the top of a mountain outside Trostland, but discovered that the signal did not have the range they were expecting. To start fixing the issue, she and Devrim requested the Young Wolf place signal amplifiers around the region. After the first one was placed, Fallen began pouring into the area. Hawthorne wanted the next one set up quickly, and as the Young Wolf headed to the designated location, she noted how peaceful the area used to be and that the Fallen only started showing up after the Red Legion assault. Hawthorne also began positively comparing the Farm to the City, believing it to be better due to the lack of walls and ability for its inhabitants to leave whenever they wished. When the second beacon was placed Hawthorne detected feedback on the channel, and they realized the Fallen had jamming devices in place. Once the jamming devices were destroyed, Hawthorne requested the Young Wolf recover the supplies she had abandoned nearby when she learned the Last City was under attack. Unfortunately, the Fallen had gotten to the supplies first. Hawthorne requested the Guardian clear them out and plant one final signal beacon. The Young Wolf drove the Fallen off and suggested the supplies would aid the City when they retook it, but Hawthorne was skeptical that would be a good thing.

As the Guardian returned to Devrim, Hawthorne began picking up feedback once more on the refugee comm signal. The Young Wolf's Ghost reported that the Fallen had deployed Shanks with jammers, and used to one to trace the Fallen signal to a nearby comm tower. Hawthorne wondered why the Fallen kept jamming their signal, and Devrim speculated they were angry at losing the chance to take over the EDZ and taking revenge. Disgusted, she noted the Fallen were too scared to face them head on, and the Young Wolf soon traced the Fallen to an underground base. As the Young Wolf assaulted the Fallen base, their Ghost stated they should clear out the caves for good once the Last City was freed. Hawthorne countered that they could instead leave the Fallen alone in their caves and not potentially risk anymore lives. The Young Wolf shut down the jammers sending the signal to the shanks and destroyed the Fallen's broadcasting equipment. Hawthorne was pleased, noting that once the last jammer was set up their signal would not just reach Earth, but the rest of the solar system as well.

Hawthorne then asked Devrim when he would bring the signal booster to the transmitter above the salt mines, and he informed her that the Young Wolf was on their way with it and that he was too old to climb a mountain and keep looking cleaning up after her. She was glad he had finally admitted to being old, and noted that bailing her out on one assault charge did not mean he could lord it over her. When the Guardian reached the top of the mountain, Hawthorne thanked them for bringing the booster and told them they were not so bad for a Guardian. As she installed the booster Hawthorne was surprised there was an incoming beacon from Commander Zavala, who was rallying Guardians on Titan. As the Young Wolf and their Ghost became excited, Hawthorne angrily cut the message off and told them they were not going to Titan, pointing out that they had the Cabal setting up a warbase on one side of the EDZ while the Fallen claimed another, leaving the Farm and its refugees in the middle. The Ghost protested they would need to retake the Last City, but Hawthorne screamed at them the City was gone before grabbing her sniper rifle and preparing to leave. They told her they would be back with help, and she dejectedly told them they would know where to find her.

Before they departed for Titan, the Young Wolf aided Hawthorne and Devrim in one final task by planting a false message to trick the Cabal and Fallen into fighting each other in the hope it would distract them from the Farm and refugees. As the Young Wolf gathered intercepted Fallen transmissions, Hawthorne warned them not to mention accents around Devrim, as he would not stop talking about them, while also recommending they use the cliffside where they set up the last comms beacon as an ambush spot. After the Guardian acquired explosives and set up the ambush, the Ghost sent a message insulting Ghaul and mentioned using a specific Fallen accent. Hawthorne was annoyed as Devrim began to talk about the finer points of the accent, but he was soon cut off by the Ghost as the ambush began. Three Cabal officers were killed in the attack, and after Devrim noted he could hear the explosions from Trostland, Hawthorne was confidant that this incident would keep both the Cabal and Fallen in conflict for some time.

Striking Back
"Hawthorne. It's one thing for us to put our lives on the line, but… this doesn't have to be your fight. You're not a..." "A Guardian? You think you've cornered the market on sacrifice? You forget that we've had to survive without the Light, all our lives! Once upon a time, that big white ball in the sky was there for all of us. I think it's about time we returned the favor. Guardians or not."

- Ikora and Hawthorne

Over the next several months, Hawthorne coordinated operations in the EDZ. One of her primary targets was Thumos, the Unbroken, a high-ranking officer in the Red Legion's Blood Guard who commanded the Echion Vae, a carrier docked at Firebase Hades. She sent one of her best teams to eliminate him, however they were easily killed by the Cabal commander. When the Young Wolf returned to the Farm with the Vanguard, Hawthorne eavesdropped on a meeting between Zavala, Ikora Rey, and Cayde-6 discussing how to get into the Last City and destroy the cage to restore their Light. From the rafters, she interrupted and pointed out the City's walls were full of holes much like the barn they were in and she could help a strike team slip in unseen. Jumping down to join them, Cayde questioned if she was one of his Hunters, but Hawthorne told him she was not a fan of capes. Offering the help of her team, Ikora told her that she should not put her life on the line as she was not a Guardian. Hawthorne grew angry and pointed out that she and the other Lightless had sacrificed and survived their entire lives without being Guardians and now wished to help free the Traveler from its prison. Cayde agreed with her, but noted they also had to deal with The Almighty before it destroyed the sun and annihilated the entire system. Hawthorne suggested stealing a ship from Firebase Hades so that the Young Wolf could sneak aboard and destroy it, but that sneaking in would be difficult. Zavala stated that they were done sneaking and would follow Cayde's example by making a grand entrance.

After the Young Wolf broke the Red Legion's lines using a Drake Tank, Hawthorne helped Zavala direct them aboard the Echion Vae to hunt down Thumos and steal his ship's command codes. She warned them about the fate of her last team and asked them to break the supposedly unbreakable Cabal commander in revenge. Hawthorne was worried about the Young Wolf after her other losses to Thumos, but Zavala reassured her that they were a Guardian and missions like this were what they did. She noted that since Zavala was Lightless now it was what he once did and there was no longer any difference between them. As the Young Wolf progressed through the ship, Hawthorne wished she could be with them to kill Thumos herself and Zavala reassured her that her time to fight would come. After Thumos was eliminated and the key codes secured, Hawthorne thanked them and began spreading the news around the Farm that Thumos was dead.

As the Young Wolf finished disabling The Almighty and was on their way back to Earth, Hawthorne led the infiltration effort alongside the three Vanguards. She was impressed by Cayde using his chicken Colonel as a distraction to eliminate seven Cabal sentries in a row. She and her team took up position outside a fortified Cabal outpost where they intended to set up a stolen Vex teleporter to reach Ghaul's flagship. Notifying Zavala they were ready, the Commander ordered Ikora to lead her attack team on Sparrows to begin the battle. With the Cabal distracted by Ikora's team, Hawthorne led her team in, arriving just in time to save Zavala from a Centurion. Helping the Commander to his feet, the two watched as Cayde eliminated the Cabal on the roof. She noted that now all they needed was to get Zavala and Ikora up to the Hunter, but the Cabal then activated a barrier that cut off Lord Shaxx's team from them. Hawthorne volunteered to deal with the barriers while they continued on, and Zavala wished her luck and addressed her as Guardian.

The Red Legion activated more energy barriers across the City to funnel the strike teams into kill boxes. Hawthorne set out to hack into their power grids and disable them for a brief time, allowing the Guardians and resistance soldiers to move through the streets towards their objectives. After the Young Wolf's ship was shot down before they could reach the Vanguard commanders, Hawthorne contacted them and explained the situation and requested time to get rid of the barriers in their way. After taking down the first barrier, Hawthorne heard Cayde report in distress that the teleporter was almost ready and worried that he would not get it done. Although all three Vanguards were injured defending the teleporter, Cayde did get it working and the Young Wolf successfully used it to reach Ghaul's ship and defeat him while the Traveler awakened and destroyed the Red Legion's commander for good.

Settling In
With the Last City liberated, Hawthorne found herself welcomed by the Vanguard into a leadership position within the new Tower helping to organize the Guardians into Clans that better served the people of the City. Hawthorne began settling into her new role in the Tower by studying up on the history of the Last City in order to better serve its people. She made a reading nest for herself in the Tower's courtyard and studied the City's origins, the history of the Vanguard and Consensus, along with the Faction Wars. Her newfound influence and dislike of New Monarchy resulted in several people in the Tower following her lead and stealing supplies from the faction.

Celebrations
During the second Dawning after the liberation of the Last City, Hawthorne made several house calls to various residents of the City who needed help with decorations or other issues. After she assisted Mrs. Hasan in hanging decorations outside of her home and store within the City, Mrs. Hasan invited her to stay longer to have a hot drink in an attempt to set her up with Farrah. Although amused, Hawthorne politely declined and accepted a tin of cookies in thanks before setting off to the next home that needed her help. As she walked through the neighborhood, a Hunter Exo transmatted nearby. Noticing his shock at the decorations, Hawthorne deduced that he was a newly risen Guardian who had never experienced the Dawning before. Hearing him wonder what was happening, she stopped and explained about the Dawning to him. Seeing his wonder and continued confusion, Hawthorne invited him to come along with her to hear more of an explanation about the City's traditions and to get tamales at her next destination.

During the first Revelry, Hawthorne was gifted a custom Jumpship by the Guardians of the Tower in thanks for her aid to them.

Arrival of the Black Fleet
"I'll admit, I thought it was over when live casts of those horrible ships hit the Tower. It's all I could look at for days."

- Hawthorne talking with the Young Wolf

When the Pyramids arrived in the Solar System, the Vanguard began to pull most of its assets in the Solar System back the Last City in preparation for an assault. Hawthorne and her contacts worked with Executor Hideo and New Monarchy to assist and settle in the returning and new arrivals to the City. Like the rest of the residents of the Last City, Hawthorne watched the live broadcasts of the Pyramids invasion and the subsequent disappearance of Mars, Mercury, Io, and Titan. She feared that the end of humanity would soon come, but the Last City survived the Darkness' onslaught when the Traveler reformed itself and halted the advance of its ancient foe. However, the event was all that Hawthorne would be to think about and review for the next several days.

Soon after, the Young Wolf visited Hawthorne and they discussed the recent events. She noted how busy her friend had been recently and joked that they were not doing bad for someone she had once dragged out of the mountains half-dead. She informed them that she had been talking with Zavala a lot recently in order to remind him of all they had fought for and draw strength from those memories, and she also expressed gratefulness for having been allowed to be a part of those achievements. Louis began to nuzzle at her and Hawthorne absentmindedly fed him scraps of meat while admitting her feelings of fear about the Pyramids. Hawthorne gave her condolences to the Young Wolf about the loss of Sloane and Asher, who had remained on Titan and Io instead of evacuating in order to continue their fight against the Darkness. Glancing out briefly over the Last City, she then turned back to the Young Wolf and noted that while they did sometimes lose, she hoped they would never quit and vowed that she would not either.

When some Guardians began utilizing the Darkness to fight the enemies of humanity with Stasis, Hawthorne was amongst those in the Tower who supported this approach. She argued that as it was not the Light that made Guardians special but how they used it, then the powers drawn from the Darkness were no different.

Befriending Ada
"I should probably get back down there. I have a lot of work ahead of me." "Don't be a stranger, Ada. You come up from your cave more often, you might find you have more friends than you think."

- Hawthorne befriending Ada after helping her find a new way forward for the Black Armory

Several months after the arrival of the Black Fleet, Hawthorne became concerned about Ada-1, the leader of the Black Armory whose forges had been lost during the Vanguard's retreat to the City during the arrival. After another day of hearing sounds of construction and cursing coming from Ada's workspace, Hawthorne entered the Black Armory to check on the Exo. She attempted to offer her assistance, but Ada noted that is she could not interpret the armory schematics or convince Zavala to stop bothering her about getting the forges operational again it was unlikely. Hawthorne questioned her about why she was doing all this and what the goal of the Black Armory was. Ada explained that they were to stand as a shield for humanity against the Darkness with the forges as their tools. Noting that plan had not gone well considering the disappearance of Mars and the other worlds caused the weaponsmith to snap if Hawthrone had only come down to mock her. Attempting to backtrack, Hawthorne acknowledged that while they were not friends and that she was unsure the reclusive Exo had any of those, which earned her another glare from Ada, she was trying to help and suggested that perhaps Ada could find another way to assist humanity and move past the legacy of the forges. Ada was reluctant but agreed to consider the possibility before sticking out a stiff hand for Hawthorne to shake. Amused by the Exo's awkwardness, Hawthrone grasped her hand and wished her luck before requesting she try to keep the noise down so as not to bother Louis.

Sometime after visiting Ada, Hawthorne was surprised when the Exo came to see her in the Tower's bazaar. She noted that she had been thinking about visiting her again due to how quiet it had become and was pleased to hear that things had been going more smoothly for Ada. Questioning about what the answer had been to finding a new way forward, Hawthrone was interested to hear it involved centuries old tech created by a megalomaniac. As they stood watching the Last City, Ada admitted that Hawthorne's comment about not having friends had stuck with her since their last conversation. Hawthorne attempted to apologize, but the weaponsmith cut her off and admitted that social interactions had never been her strong suit. Softly noting that it was hard to put oneself out there in the world, especially with a past like Ada's, Hawthorne was pleased to hear that the Exo was finding it easier now to work with others on her path. Hawthorne placed a hand on Ada's shoulder as she prepared to leave to return to her work and told her not to be a stranger and that if she left workspace behind more often she might just find she did have friends.

Mind Heist
"A mind heist? Only you, Guardian. Only you."

- Suraya Hawthorne.

Following the Guardian's dealing with numerous threats to the last city, from lifting the Endless Night, holding the line in the Dreaming City against Xivu Arath's Horde, conducting a Hidden investigation on the appearance of Lightbearing Hive of the Lucent Brood and containing the resurgence of the Nightmares haunting the derelict Leviathan hanging near the moon, Suraya would receive a surprise request from Eris Morn, asking her to deliver a datapad to the Guardian. Said datapad contained schematics of the Leviathan and a transmat beacon details for it's Tribute Hall. Surprised that Eris is breaking Vanguard protocol and though not wanting to go behind Ikora's back, she nonetheless complies with Eris's request when she got the chance to meet with the Guardian.

In truth, Eris wanted the Guardian to preform a heist of sorts, delving into the mind of Calus himself to steal his darkest secrets. Though the mission proved difficult, the Guardians nonetheless succeeded, learning what Calus actually intends to do and perhaps from what they learn, they might prevent a second Collapse. Suraya would learn of what the Guardian's experienced and while she is impressed with their efforts, she informs them that Ikora caught wind of their mission and is already authorizing future dives into the Mindscape. Further, Suraya hopes that Eris got what she was looking for, believing she may have opened a door that should've stayed closed.

Personality and traits
"Are you sure you're not one of my Hunters?" "Not really into capes." "Clearly. Nice poncho."

- Cayde-6 and Hawthorne

Hawthorne is a young woman with olive skin, sporting a circular pattern of dots atop her face. She is shown to be very ambitious, earned through years of surviving on her own without the Light, able to stand her ground against the Cabal. She has a companion falcon named Louis.

Suraya possesses a conflicted view of the Last City and the Guardians; while she respects the Guardians for their abilities and their priority of defending people, she finds the City and its walls to be equivalent of a prison as she has enjoyed the open freedom of the wild. While she aided the survivors of the Last City and the crippled Guardians, she was originally against the idea of reclaiming the City or even going against enemy forces, preferring to protect those at the Farm.

Despite this mindset, Suraya aided the Vanguard in their efforts in reclaiming the Last City, becoming instrumental in getting their forces through the Wall undetected. She saved Commander Zavala from death at the hands of a Red Legion Legionary, who showed his gratitude by officially calling her a Guardian. From then on, Suraya took residence at the new Tower, learning about the Last City and its history while overseeing missions in the European Dead Zone, as well as moderating the newly established Guardian Clans.

Suraya would later prove to be more open-minded and accepting of different point of views, as she supported the Guardian's decision to wield Stasis in their efforts to protect the Sol System, unlike others who believe that they are straying from the Light. In a similar vein to the Exo Stranger, Suraya would view Stasis as a tool and that the Light has proven to be no different, stating that the Light doesn't make Guardians, its how they use it.

Gameplay
Hawthorne gives players their Clan banner as soon as they join a clan, which tracks their clan progress per season. As soon as a clan completes a challenge together, she rewards all members with legendary engrams.

Trivia

 * Hawthorne is voiced by Sumalee Montano.
 * A pre-release render of Hawthorne shows that her poncho is decorated with the Hunter insignia. It's possible that Bungie may have intended for her to be a Guardian sometime during development, or at least affiliated with the aforementioned class.
 * Hawthorne appears to be a direct reference to the Magic: the Gathering card, Soraya, the Falconer, with the two sharing a name (albeit spelled slightly differently), as well as a sidekick.

List of appearances

 * Destiny 2
 * Curse of Osiris
 * Forsaken
 * Black Armory
 * Joker's Wild
 * Season of Opulence
 * Season of Dawn
 * Season of the Worthy
 * Season of Arrivals
 * Beyond Light
 * Season of the Splicer
 * The Witch Queen
 * Season of the Haunted