Swordbearer

Swordbearers are unique Hive Knights tasked with guarding the bridge to the Oversoul Throne. A few can be seen in the Crota's End Raid and the Story Mission Last Rites. Killing a Swordbearer drops an Ascendant Sword which must be used to cross the bridge to Crota's fortress without dying to Bane of the Swordless and must also be used to damage the Gatekeepers and Crota.

Several Knights have appeared since the Swordbearer's introduction that mimick its sword-dropping characteristics.

Gameplay
While in the bridge encounter, there are two specific enemies: the Swordbearer, and the Gatekeeper. The only way to cross the bridge is to kill the Swordbearer and take his sword; without it, players cannot cross alive. Killing the Swordbearer results in the Gatekeeper spawning on the opposite side of the bridge, who can only be killed by the sword. Be warned, the sword will disappear after forty-five seconds, so it's crucial that the bridge is already formed before killing the Swordbearer and taking his sword. It is also crucial that each Gatekeeper is killed before the sword breaks, as each time the Swordbearer is killed, another Gatekeeper appears. A Swordbearer appears again during Crota's fight where he is needed to be killed for his sword to be used to damage Crota. Once the sword breaks, another Swordbearer respawns.

Variants

 * Accursed Swordbearer
 * Blade of the Pit
 * Cherished Darkblade
 * Crota's Swordbearer
 * Lucent Reliquist
 * Lucent Swordbearer
 * Severing Knight
 * Swordbearer Nightmare

Trivia

 * The Swordbearer's appearance has been adopted by other Knights in the series, notably Urrox, Flame Prince, Kandorak, and Zulmak, Instrument of Torment.

Gallery
 File:Swordbearer.png|A Swordbearer attacking the player. 

List of appearances

 * Destiny
 * The Dark Below
 * The Taken King