Anastasia Bray

"You want another story about the Twilight Gap? Ana Bray, the Hunter. We all dug deep that day. We all touched the Light in ways we never thought we could. Or should. Ana, though. When she fired the Gun, where her Golden blasts hit home, she left behind the pools of light. Like splashes of sunlight that burned and burned."

- Lord Shaxx

Anastasia "Ana" Bray is a Hunter Gunslinger and a member of House Bray. Prior to her first death, she was a psycholinguist who helped develop the Warmind Rasputin by teaching it independent thought. After the Collapse, Ana was risen as a Lightbearer by a Ghost named Jinju. Unlike most Guardians, Ana had knowledge about her past life due to the Clovis Bray ID she was wearing upon her revival.

She became a hero of the Last City, only disappeared after the Battle of Twilight Gap, with many believing her dead, in order to investigate her past. She received help from Owl Sector operative Camrin Dumuzi, who Ana eventually entered into a relationship with. Her search led her to a Clovis Bray facility in the Hellas Basin on Mars, where Ana hoped to recruit Rasputin in aiding humanity against its enemies. However, the presence of a Hive brood called the Grasp of Nokris complicated her efforts, and Ana teamed up with The Young Wolf and Commander Zavala to rescue the Warmind.

The Golden Age
As a child, Ana was told that she had been adopted by the Bray family; however, in truth, she was actually Clovis Bray II's biological child through an extramarital affair. Her sister Elisabeth said that the truth was kept from Ana partly to spare her from having a negative opinion of her father, but also because her family noticed destructive tendencies in Ana's behavior. They feared that she might turn out like her cruel and sociopathic grandfather if she knew that she was part of his lineage.

For most of her life, she struggled to feel like a member of the family, due in part to her grandfather, Clovis Bray I, having a negative opinion of her "genetics".

Teaching Rasputin
During her life at Clovis Bray, Ana worked on Rasputin as a psycholinguist that sought to teach him independent thought; this was needed if he was going to solve problems without human supervision. Rather than provide him with rigid programming that could only solve specific problems, she provided access to works of humanities—including literature, philosophy, and music—in order to develop nuance in his language, morality, and emotion. He also made excellent progress in developing value judgments and intuition from her trial simulations. Once he had begun to create his own ideas through changing his voice and upgrading Warsats, Ana found her work satisfactory. However, she realized that she never taught Rasputin the concept of trust, and that it will be difficult for humanity to trust in him.

Defender of the City
Sometime after Ana's death, she was found and revived by the Ghost Jinju. Unlike other Lightbearers, Ana learned of her past due to the Clovis Bray ID card and other materials that were on her person. She was mentored in how to be a Hunter by Andal Brask, although Ana was annoyed by his tendency to tell people that their fellow Hunter Cayde-6 was actually Rasputin. Early in her career as a Guardian, Ana worked with a fireteam called the Night Wolves, but the rest of her team perished.

Several weeks after the Last City was defended against a massive Fallen assault that came to be known as Six Fronts, Ana participated in a citywide memorial and festival for those who had perished defending the Last City throughout its history. Utilizing Solar Light to create lanterns for the revelers to follow along the City's streets, Ana encountered Saint-14 and handed him an unlit lantern while asking if there was anyone he wished to remember. The Titan instead asked her what she would do if they one day defeated the Darkness and there was peace. Ana admitted she was unsure, but then asked him if he ever wondered about his previous thirteen lives and what they had been like. He informed her he was happy with fourteen, and Ana sprinkled seeds on his shoulders to attract pigeons to him and told him she was as well. As she departed, Ana reminded him to walk the memorial row as it got dark, and corrected him when he called her Anastasia when he responded that he would.

Battle of Twilight Gap
"I still think of the Battle of Twilight Gap. I don't remember much. There was smoke and ash. I heard Shaxx shouting, but I just kept firing my gun, over and over."

- Ana Bray

While Ana defended the City with the same valor as her comrades, she never felt that the City was her home. On top that, Ana had an unyielding desire to learn more about Clovis Bray, Rasputin, and by extension, her past life. Because her search for knowledge was deemed personal, she and Commander Zavala would often argue about her quest, since Guardians learning about their past is a taboo. One day while in the plaza of the Tower, Ana was confronted by Zavala about her research, but their argument was interrupted by Andal, who informed them that the Fallen were launching an assault on the Last City from Twilight Gap. Ana was placed in a Fireteam under the command of Lord Shaxx for the battle alongside Liu Feng, Nkechi-32, Idil Abdi, and Truce. As the Fallen threatened to overwhelm the City's walls, all Guardians were ordered to fall back by Lord Saladin Forge, who declared the City lost. However, Shaxx refused to accept this and rallied Ana and the rest of the fireteam to ignore the order and hold the wall, with Ana providing covering fire for her fellow Guardians. They held the Wall long enough for the rest of the Vanguard to regroup and launch a counterattack which drove the Fallen back into Twilight Gap.

Pursuing the Fallen into the Gap itself, the Guardians and Fallen entered into a days long stalemate. By the third night Ana was faltering and began to feel as if the sun would ever rise over the Gap again, but managed to persevere through the night. Ana found herself fighting side-by-side with Zavala and Sloane near the City's gun emplacements within the Gap. As they fought Ana thought about how she could convince Zavala that Rasputin could help the City and prevent slaughters like this battle and Six Fronts from happening again. After dispatching several Vandals with her Golden Gun and throwing knife, Ana turned to Zavala to continue their conversation from before, but Jinju warned her that a Captain was behind her. The Captain wounded Jinju with a swipe of its blade, and Ana realized that this was her chance to fake her death and gain the freedom she needed from the Vanguard to pursue her past and find information that could help save humanity. She allowed the Captain to knock her off the cliffside, leaving Zavala and the rest of her comrades to assume that she perished from the fall. The legacy of Ana's actions at Twilight Gap lingered for decades in pools of Light she left behind, along with a bracelet she lost during the fighting. The bracelet was later recovered by a Guardian investigating a time ripple on behalf of the Future War Cult. A cloak called Strength of the Pack was designed in her honor and sold by the Speaker to Hunters.

Partnership with Camrin
"We can find the Cradle. We can find Rasputin. We're too close to give up now." "You're in no condition for a trip to Mars." "Obviously. (koff)... which is why you should let me rest (koff)... so tired..."

- Camrin and Ana discussing the consequences of their search for Rasputin

After decades of searching, Ana came to suspect that Rasputin was in a facility known as the "cradle", but was unable to find any hints of its locations in the Clovis Bray facilities she investigated. She concluded that the relevant information she was searching for had likely already been located by Holborn and his Host's scavenging missions on Mars. In order to search the Vanguard archives, Ana decided to return to the Last City incognito and visit the Fu'an Institute Library to see what they had found. However, the book she was looking for was already being examined by Camrin Dumuzi. Introducing herself as Stasya Pak, The two hit it off and Camrin began to assist Anna in her research, although Ana came to suspect that she was also an agent of the secretive Owl Sector. After awhile, she found the information they needed hidden behind a classified code, which frustrated Ana as she noted that it was ridiculous to classify information that nobody really understood. Camrin unlocked the files with an access code, causing Ana to let her know that she was part of Owl Sector. However, Camrin then revealed that she knew Ana's real identity as well, but they then noted that the files they unlocked indicated that Rasputin was on Mars. Excited by this discovery, the two began kissing to celebrate. As they broke off the kiss, they both noted it was great, but also that with that code being used the Owl Sector would be alerted to Camrin's actions and agreed they needed to depart for Mars immediately.

Over the next four years, Ana and Camrin explored multiple Clovis Bray facilities on Mars and Venus, chasing clues to the Cradle gleaned from Camrin's Owl Sector access. After finding a clue on Venus that directed them to a facility in the Meridian Bay, they fought through the Vex to the terminal which contained the information they needed. As Jinju worked to extract the information Ana and Camrin held off the Vex, although the terminal was damaged during the fight. Ana engaged the advancing Vex in hand-to-hand, but the last Hobgoblin launched a Slap Grenade at the terminal. Camrine jumped in the way of the explosive and was critically injured in the blast. Ana carried Camrin out of the facility as Jinju revealed the data contained the location of the Cradle in Hellas Basin at the BrayTech Futurescape. Imploring her girlfriend to stay conscious by reciting that good news, Ana ordered Jinju to gather all the data they had on Clovis Bray's biomed facilities. She took Camrin to Warmind Vault Med-5 in the Cosmodrome in Old Russia for treatment.

Ana routinely visited Camrin at Med-5, feeling guilt over bringing her into the search for Rasputin and believing that the data they had found was just another dead end. During one visit, Ana fell asleep but was awoken by the sound of Camrin's coughing. She rushed over to help her and asked if there was anything she could get for Camrin. She told Ana to stop blaming herself for what happened, causing Ana to express her feelings of guilt. Camrin refuted the idea that she was responsible and that they were going to finish the search together. Ana pointed out she was Lightless and wondered how she could so brave in the face of death, but Camrin pointed out that as difficult as it might be, Ana could die too and that their mission to help humanity had to take priority over their own self-preservation and that they were too close to give up. Ana countered that she was in no condition to travel and kissed Camrin after she requested time to rest. However, as Camrin revealed that she had made recordings going over all their data and everything they would need for their mission to Mars, her condition took a turn for the worse and she flatlined, forcing Ana to put her into stasis within the medical bunker.

Lightless
With Camrin's research and recordings to guide her, Ana set out for the Hellas Basin at the icecap of Mars. Landing her jumpship at Arcadia Circle, Ana established a base camp and had Jinju scan the region and compare it with the data recovered from Clovis Bray. He noted that the facility was likely buried deep under the ice, which Camrin's notes indicated was unnaturally thick and likely Rasputin's handiwork, indicating that the Warmind was there. As she began walking towards the facility, they discovered frozen transport vehicles and combat Frames, although they had no records of any battle having had taken place there. Upon hearing a noise, Ana discovered Red Legion soldiers setting up a drill. Ambushing them, she declared everything in the facility belonged to her family and not the Dominus Ghaul their commander mentioned. The commander charged her and demanded she praise Ghaul's name but she swiftly cut him down with her Golden Gun. However, she was tackled to the ground by a War Beast and before she could shoot it with her remaining super energy the Light suddenly drained from her and Jinju. Despite taking wounds Ana resolved she that she would not die in such a manner after all she went through and managed to get her sidearm into the mouth of the creature and kill it.

Though Jinju was able to heal her, Ana was still down to one life. Though Jinju picked Zavala's call to rally on Saturn's moon Titan, Ana opted to fight by continuing her search for Rasputin. Some time later, Ana was caught in a dangerously heavy snowstorm. When a personal effect of hers is lost in the storm, Ana abandons self-preservation to find it, despite Jinju's warning that the storm would kill her permanently. At the same time Ana is buried alive by the storm, the Traveler awakens, returning Light to all Guardians and Ghosts. Miraculously, Jinju is able to revive her partner, and the duo find that they reached Hellas Basin, and press forward to Rasputin's core.

Ice and Shadow
Upon reaching Hellas Basin, Ana scanned the topography to find an entire armada of Hive Tombships buried beneath the glacier. What's worse were hundreds of Warsats dropping out of the atmosphere and into the glacier as a result of the Traveler's awakening, which in turn caused the dormant Hive to reawaken beneath her feet. Ana fought her way across the unstable terrain between the unburrowing Hive and Rasputin only to find something much worse unearth on the horizon: the living, giant Worm God Xol.

Reaching out for assistance on secure Vanguard communications, Ana's help would come in the form of the Guardian. After clearing a path through the Hive and the Red Legion so they can rendezvous at the entrance of the Braytech facility, Ghost would suggest calling for support from the Vanguard. However, Ana objects to this. She cites Zavala's stance against the Warmind and prohibitions on investigation into a Guardian's past life. Ana would properly introduce herself to the Guardian by killing a Vanquisher from behind, clearing the way forward to the facility's reception area.

After a moment in awe of her family's ancient research facility, Ana found herself able to access Rasputin's systems from a terminal using her old credentials. From there, she could aid the Guardian in accessing the security systems and keep the Hive from swarming the Warmind's Mindlab. Reaching out to Rasputin for aid, the Warmind would heed Ana's command by providing the Valkyrie to the Guardian, giving them firepower to clear out the frozen Hive and access the Mindlab from the inside. Ana and the Guardian were met with surprise to find Zavala inside the Mindlab, reprimanding them for defying the Vanguard and siding with the Warmind. Zavala would further chastise Ana for not standing alongside her Guardian siblings during the Red War only for her to stand her ground; reinforcing her faith in Rasputin protecting Humanity along with her personal connection to him, despite Zavala's bias on Rasputin being a dangerous and unpredictable machine to wield.

The ECHO Project
Meanwhile, exploring Mars, Ana finds a Braytech facility, detailed Clovis - 9, which she is surprised to locate as she believed all facilities had been previously found. Inside, she finds dead Exo units that appear to be linked to an ECHO Project. Surviving an attack by the stations automatic defence systems, Ana, her Ghost and Rasputin investigate and discover that there exists a network of defensive systems disconnected completely from Rasputin's control network. This network covers the Sol system in various places, but one in particular catches her interest. Located in the vicinity of Uranus, it is titled ECHO. Gathering more information on this, it appears to relate to a protocol to manage a Warmind in the event it goes rogue. This would involve partitioning the Warmind into twelve different facilities, and quarantining them from being accessed by anything else.

With her interest piqued, and noticing that the station has sent out a distress signal and is experiencing orbital decline, the trio set out toward it, both to continue uncovering the mystery of the Bray legacy, and to save the station from obliteration.

On the journey to arrive at Uranus, Ana's ship begins experiencing gravitational anomalies, not unlike the type produced by Pyramids, though the trio are unsure of the source. It appears that something doesn't want her to locate her destination. Piloting her ship on new coordinates towards her destination, she overcomes the gravitational wave anomalies and comes out of jump in sight of Uranus. Danger doesn't end here though, as on approach to the mysterious station of Caelus, a warsat network surrounding it begins to attack the interlopers. Working together, the trio dodge incoming laser fire, hack warsats over to their side and destroy any that refuse to be commanded by Rasputin. Once the network is pacified, they dock with Caelus Station. Inside, they find a chaotic scene, with dead Exo inside a seemingly failed attempt at evacuation. Using Jinju's skills, a frame is hacked, who turns out to be the station manager. Travelling through the station and questioning the temporarily revived frame, they discover Ana was previously the leader of the project and the station, with the manager recognising her. It appears to be a simple colony mission on its surface, but any questions to the frame regarding the Warmind management protocol are met with responses regarding a lack of clearance.

During further probing of the frame, Ana spots something glinting outside the station, which soon becomes apparent as an assault on her. She is pierced by an ion lance fired from outside, and battle begins against an unknown assailant. As Jinju works to prevent Ana from dying, Rasputin begins utilising the hacked warsats outside to begin razing everything close to the origin point of the initial attack. Ana commands him to stop as this would doom the entire station if he continued. At last, it is discovered to be an actively camouflaged Exo, given away by the debris cloud created through Rasputin's attack. It breaches the station interior with Ana, and they engage in a fight against one another, with the Exo calling Ana "Warden". It is revealed that the Exo was a member of the ECHO team, picked by Ana in her previous life, and has gone through 2625 resets since the Collapse, trapped upon the abandoned station. Madness had taken it after so many years, and now that Ana had arrived, it sought revenge. Now that it was dead, Ana decided it was better to not save the station, only to take a small portion of what might be useful from it. Some things were better left forgotten.

Halting the Almighty
"What a time to be alive. I don't think anyone has ever thrown a spaceship at us before, so that's new."

- Ana

Ana was called upon by Zavala to investigate the Red Legion's activity on the Cabal superweapon known as The Almighty when it suddenly moved out of orbit of Mercury. Infilitrating the station, Ana made her way to the engine room while Zavala fought to the bridge. She discovered three Psions within the control room, and told Zavala to wait a moment as he tried to contact her. Drawing her knives, Ana engaged the Psions, swiftly breaking ones neck with a kick. Dodging their fire, she gutted the second Psion and flipped away from the third, finishing it off by throwing one of her knives into its neck as it raised its weapon. Ana retrieved her knife and mocked her dead foes, but then noticed the Cabal had destroyed the central manifold, crippling the Almighty's maneuvering thrusters. A explosion then rocked the station, and Ana quickly identified it as coming from the propulsion deck and that the Cabal had now destroyed the primary engine. She asked if Zavala had secured the bridge yet, and he told her to wait just a moment. Once he had taken it, Zavala informed Ana that the Cabal had also destroyed the Almighty's navigation system, leaving the ship hurtling through space with no way to change course. Ana was confused about why the Cabal had done all this and wondered what the Cabal's motive was, but Zavala then discovered that the Red Legion had set the station on a collision course for the Last City.

Realizing that the Last City does not have the ordnance to destroy or alter The Almighty's course, Ana suggests that their only hope was to gain the cooperation of the only entity that may have the power to save their home: Rasputin. Though Zavala remained adamant that the ancient Warmind cannot be trusted, noting its priorities have changed in the past, Ana believes they don't have a choice, which the Titan Vanguard reluctantly complies with. Relaying her plan to The Guardian, Ana suggests they speak with Rasputin directly at his core to plead their case with him. After driving back a Red Legion force with Rasputin's weaponized Frames and speaking with Rasputin, the Warmind agrees to help the Guardians to find a way to stop The Almighty. To begin, Rasputin directs the Guardians to a hidden bunker within the EDZ and connect it with his system mainframe. Ana Bray and Zavala arrive at the bunker first and encounter a House of Dusk raiding party. As Zavala holds off the Dusk Fallen, Ana works on a terminal to make a make a connection with Rasputin but fortune arrives in the Guardian who manages to slay the raiding party leader and drives the rest of the Fallen away. As Ana gets closer to making a connection between the bunker's mainframe with Rasputin's, Zavala once again voices his distrust in the Warmind. Ana defends Rasputin, stating they are on the same side and that Zavala needs only faith. Zavala remains unconvinced but says that between her and Ana, he would put his faith in her. Once their discussion is over, Ana is successful in establishing a connection with Rasputin, restoring power to the Seraph Bunker and allowing Rasputin to develop weapons for the Guardians and activate Seraph Towers in the region.

Later on, Ana travels to Luna to reactivate the Seraph Bunker there but encounters heavy Hive resistance. Fortunately, she holds the Hive off long enough for the Guardian to arrive and provide backup, allowing her to finish them off with a Blade Barrage. With the Hive eliminated, Ana works on connecting the bunker to Rasputin as the Guardian stood watch. As she worked, Ana discussed how she knew many other Guardians talked behind her back and accused her of selfishly being a Bray first and Guardian second. She revealed that the work she was doing away from the City with Rasputin was not just about uncovering her past, but searching for useful technologies from the Golden Age, including medicine, construction materials, disease-resistant crops, and even the Deep Stone Crypt, all for the benefit of humanity. However, Ana admitted that this was done under the assumption that Zavala and the Vanguard would not need her help and that she now realized there was more she could have done. As she finished connecting Rasputin the bunker, Ana transmatted out of the bunker and returned to Mars.

When The Fourth Horseman was stolen from the Vanguard vaults, the Guardian visited Ana to gain aid in tracking it down. She was shocked that someone had managed to break through the security of the vault, but based on the weapon she had one guess for who was responsible: the Cabal, as it was designed to be the ultimate Cabal slayer. She directed the Guardian to hunt down Cabal across Mars and gather data from them on recent Cabal activity. The data the Guardian collected worried Ana, as it pointed to the Shadows of Calus being involved in the theft. She suggested the Guardian hunt down Psions who were working as double agents for Emperor Calus within the Red Legion.

Following weeks of activating the Seraph Bunkers and rearming them, the Guardians are successful in stopping the Red Legion's plot to destroy the Last City using the Almighty. With Rasputin launching his countermeasure, the countless warsats destroy the Almighty, sending whats left the vessel crashing into the mountains outside the Last City. The Guardians inform Ana of their success and Ana responds with complete joy and disbelief. Further, Ana expresses her utter gratitude for the Guardians in trusting her and in Rasputin.

Rasputin's Defeat
"I froze. We still don't even know what—if we saved anything." "It's not so easy to act in the face of defeat. The prospect of a future is something we have to keep in mind." "Nothing we do is supposed to be easy. Isn't that the point? This was a stress test, and I buckled."

- Ana and Zavala discuss the defeat of Rasputin at the hands of the Pyramids

As the Pyramids moved closer to Io, Ana activated the warsats near the moon to destroy the Pyramid. At first its hologram disappeared from Rasputin's display, but it suddenly returned and sent out a shockwave that disabled Rasputin, much to Ana's distraught and fear. As she stood in horror within the darkened room, Ana was assailed by doubt and terror at how easily the Pyramids had defeated Rasputin and could not even answer Zavala as he worriedly asked what had happened over the comms. She then saw Jinju quickly tying tethers of Light between Rasputin's consoles and was stunned as her Ghost declared that she had saved most of Rasputin, but was straining to hold onto him and requested the Pillory Engram. Ana protested that it was not ready and that it could drive Rasputin insane, but Jinju's tethers began snapping and she noted it was either this or nothing. Hurrying, Ana opened the secret compartment where she kept the engram and held it in front of Jinju, who released the data she had saved into it. Ana questioned if it had worked, and Jinju stated she had saved as much as she could as Warsats began impacting the Martian surface outside the facility, unable to remain in orbit without the guiding hand of the Warmind.

The Young Wolf eventually arrived on Mars to offer Ana assistance in the wake of the attack on Rasputin and the arrival of a Pyramid on Mars. She showed her friend one of her monitors that displayed harmonic oscillations prior to Rasputin being disabled by the Darkness, causing her to wonder if the Warmind initiated an emergency upload. However, her monitors suddenly emitted a loud scream of Hive interference, causing the computers to reboot. Angered by the interruption, Ana's Light flared and her hands burned the keypad. Turning to the Young Wolf, she asked for their support and smiled as they drew their weapon. After the Young Wolf disrupted Hive operations and returned, Ana informed them that Rasputin was cleverer than the Darkness believed and had cycled part of himself through a buffer, although she was unsure how to safely extract him. As she studied a piece of the Warmind's shattered shell, Cabal drop pods began hitting the ground outside of the building. Weary of the continued distractions, Ana asked for the Young Wolf to keep their enemies occupied and give her time to figure out how to safely extract Rasputin's data.

Shortly after the Young Wolf's visit, Ana travelled to the Last City and visited Zavala. As the Commander poured them drinks in his office, Ana dejectedly stated that she could not believe they had lost. Zavala countered they had not lost yet and encouraged her to think of the future, but Ana noted that she was not even sure if she had managed to save any of Rasputin and had failed in the City's moment of greatest peril despite Zavala's trust in her and Rasputin. She was not reassured by Zavala's statement that the Last City would be rubble without her previous victories and that she was still responsible for ensuring Rasputin's survival. When he noted that the loss of Cayde-6 and his viewpoint as Hunter Vanguard had caused his own doubts but that he had now come to see Cayde's viewpoint was just one of many possibilities that guided the City, Ana quickly protested that she did not want his still vacant position on the Vanguard but the Commander reassured her he was not offering unless she was the true murderer of Cayde. She questioned if he would forgive her if she was, and he smiled when stated that killing Cayde would be understandable. As their exchange began to lighten her mood, Ana questioned what had happened to Cayde's pet chicken, the Colonel. Zavala informed her that Saint-14 had adopted it and appointed it lord of the pigeons, which finally caused Ana herself to smile, and Zavala encouraged her to have her drink before they were summoned by the Colonel to attack the Pyramids.

Evacuation of Mars
"Let Zavala know I'll bring Rasputin to the Tower. Whatever happens next, we'll face it together."

- Ana commits to evacuating Mars and returning to the Tower

After returned to Mars, Ana spent several weeks working on finding Rasputin. She was glad when Zavala sent the Young Wolf to finish aiding her in preparation for the evacuation of Mars to the Tower. She explained that she had discovered Rasputin had sent part of himself disguised along comm relays as something benign and asked them to investigate. Ana also requested that they aid the Vanguard by disrupting Hive rituals that were aimed at strengthening Savathûn, the Witch Queen while also engaging Escalation Protocol to draw in and kill as many Hive as possible. The Young Wolf successfully halted the Hive rituals and recovered more of Rasputin. When they returned, Ana informs them she had been performing "brain surgery" with a smoldering iron before showing them a small viewscreen. She admitted it was less of the Warmind than she had hoped, a mere fraction of a percent, but it was still him. Ana then activated the device and asked if Rasputin was in there, which caused the viewscreen to flicker orange. Relieved and smiling, Ana asked the Young Wolf to return to Zavala and let him know that she and Rasputin would be evacuating Mars to join the Vanguard at the Tower so they could face the Darkness together.

As Ana watched the Young Wolf depart for the final time, she reflected on how they had become a trusted confidant who had believed in her when no one else had. Thinking back on Zavala's words to her in his office, Ana knew the bond between the Guardians was more powerful than any Warmind weapon and was the hope for the future that they had to build on and that she had plenty of experience in rebuilding things from a destroyed past. As she finished packing as much technology into a freighter as it could carry, Ana glanced out across the now quiet Martian surface, with the remaining Cabal having evacuated, the Hive defeated, and Rasputin's weapons inactive. Jinju reported to her that their jumpship, loaded with an experimental Exo chassis for Rasputin, was ready to depart after final system check, and Ana prepared to leave behind her past on Mars and join Zavala and the rest of the Vanguard in the Tower to fight for humanities' future against the Darkness.

Reunion on Europa
"Screw him. He can't control us anymore. Let's take this power and use it exactly like he doesn't want us to: for humanity."

- Ana, solidifying her alliance with her long-lost sister Elsie to use Clovis Bray I's Darkness research in defense of humanity

Shortly after Ana's return to the Last City, the Darkness caused the disappearance of Titan, Mercury, Mars and Io. In response to the assault by the Darkness, the Traveler reformed and sent out a burst of Light that halted the advance of its ancient foe. Setting up a workshop in a partition between the Tower and the City, Ana promised Zavala that she would rebuild Rasputin to help defend humanity from the Darkness. She was soon visited by Osiris, whose exile had been lifted by the Vanguard. As she continued to work on the experimental Exo chassis the two Guardians discussed the recent events. Osiris questioned if she had overheard a resonant tone when the Darkness attacked Rasputin and played a recording one he had gathered from the Lighthouses of Mercury. Ana told him she had been preoccupied at the time, but did not recall any tone. The Warlock then criticized her for not using her experience to aid the Vanguard more actively and instead was only trying to dredge up the dead. She shot back that he believed himself to be the only who could play god and suggested he go see Emperor Calus, suggesting that the two would get along well in their arrogance. Osiris ignored her insult and requested that she run the tone through her and Rasputin's database. She sarcastically agreed to the request but told Osiris to use the Ghost-vine to contact her instead of coming in person from then on before focusing once more on her work.

Ana is invited to Europa by the being known to the Last City as the Exo Stranger, but she reveals her true identity is Elsie Bray. As they converse, Ana learns of some of the crime committed by her grandfather Clovis Bray I, and admits that she while knew that Clovis was bad, she did not expect what she found on Europa. Ana would then become surprised and upset after learning that not only is her sister looking for Clovis's Stasis research but that she and the Young Wolf are actually using Stasis, despite what the Darkness has done and declares using it will not end well. Though her sister states that Stasis is just a tool, Ana is not convinced but is piqued when her sister mentions that it did not end well "before". Elise reveals that she is not from her timeline, she came from another timeline where Ana was too obsessed with her past for her own good and she was too selfish for her good. In her timeline, the Darkness won and Elsie's efforts to shield Ana from it ultimately drove her to it. Though Elsie apologizes for keeping so much from her and now just wants to be there for her, Ana is left almost speechless. Unable to handle what she was told, yet glad to see her sister alive, Ana leaves to process things.

After some time and much thinking, Ana realizes that her sister truly cares for her if she went through all the trouble to keep her safe. Returning to Europa to find her sister, Ana locates her within the main lab of Creation. The two Bray sisters reconcile and vow that no matter what truths they face, they will face it together. After their reconciliation, the Guardian activates the Clovis AI found in the lab, a machine that housed the consciousness of Clovis I, her grandfather. Though Ana found speaking to her grandfather after so many centuries to be incredible, her mood turned sour when she learned that her grandfather researched potent Darkness energy but only ever intended it for the Bray name and legacy, unconcerned for its use for the good of humanity. He further mocked her sister as she once helped him in Project Exo and stood beside him as he continued his research. Their "family reunion" ends bitterly as Clovis states that no matter what happens, she will always be a Bray. Elsie comments that Clovis had always been problematic but he always had some humanity before the Darkness stripped what was left of it. Ana scoffs at her grandfather, stating that he cannot control them anymore and they should use the power of Stasis and his research exactly how he does not want it: for the good of humanity. Having what they need from Clovis, Ana and her sister departed from the lab.

Disturbing Truths
Though Ana wouldn't partake in an active role in the Hidden Investigation of Mars's sudden and mysterious return, not to mention the appearance of Savathûn and her new following, the Lucent Brood, where their queen and some of its members wielded the Light, she would be present during a Vanguard meeting where the Young Wolf would inform them all of a horrifying truth: the Witch Queen never stole the Light as originally believed but were chosen by the Traveler as a Guardian would. The news left Ana shocked and nearly saddened, with Saint-14 offering comfort but Zavala would be left completely incredulous that the Traveler would give one of humanity's most devious of foes the Light. Despite everyone despairing at the truth, Ikora Rey, remained determined to stop Savathûn, claiming the Traveler's reasons don't matter, only that if the Witch Queen succeeds in her plan to seal away the Traveler within her Throne World, then humanity won't survive the Black Fleet and it's supposed leader, The Witness.

Fortunately, the Guardian and Ikora would succeed in defeating Savathûn and stop her spell, saving the Last City, though the Witch Queen's ghost, Immaru, escaped. Following this, Ana would provide some aid in the Hidden's investigation on Rasputin's condition and on something called NEFELE STRONGHOLD but Ana could find no reference of it in the Warmind's records, with Ana thinking that Rasputin himself removed all traces of it, leaving the investigation unsolved.

Restoring Rasputin
After many months of persisting in her work towards restoring Rasputin, Ana was getting nowhere. With the re-awakening of Osiris, who sought information that perhaps only Rasputin may hold, she was confronted with an option to gain ground in her quest to bring the Warmind back online; ask her grandfather Clovis Bray for assistance. She balked at the suggestion from Osiris, but gave in as she was beginning to reach the end of the line that Rasputin's life clung to. Travelling to Bray Exoscience on Europa, she confronted her grandfather's AI, tersely agreeing to allow him to put his expertise towards restoring the Warmind.

With this alliance formed, Ana began to assist the Guardian alongside Osiris, Elsie, Mara and Clovis. She would provide intelligence to the Guardian on missions infiltrating hidden bunkers across the system, seeking to gain submind data held within, with which Rasputin could begin rebuilding themselves. Though accepting Clovis's help, Ana did not accept any of his self-serving remarks or conjecture, often opting to put him down or simply shut down communications with him altogether. This behavior was also expressed by her sister, Elsie, the two of them bonding over their shared hatred for the man. After some weeks of research and investigation into locations of further submind data, Ana decided to take another jump-start in resurrecting the Warmind. She surmised that Felwinter, a former Iron Lord, may be the key. Prior to his life as a Risen, Felwinter was an Exo frame developed by Rasputin as a learning device, something through which Rasputin could interact with humanity in a more neutral manner. Lost in the Collapse and then resurrected by the Traveler, Rasputin felt slighted by this and sought to destroy his creation. Eventually, Rasputin successfully claimed the life of his proto-son. Thanks to Felwinter being a direct product of Rasputin, Ana hoped that there might remain some useful code or otherwise that could be used to rebuild Rasputin. Ana spoke with Saladin Forge and gained permission to travel to the Iron Temple, where the remains of Felspring, Felwinter's Ghost, were interred. Sending the Guardian to combat House Salvation forces who sought to either destroy or steal the remains, Ana was able to extract the information she sought that resided within the remains of Felspring.

Using this, Rasputin was able to awaken and converse with humanity for the first time in a long time. Ana had achieved part of her goals, though was still a ways off from reviving her ally to his full capacity. However, Rasputin came back to consciousness with a warning that Clovis sought not to simply assist in the rebuilding of Rasputin, but to use the Warsat Network as his new AI home, taking over the weaponry available to become a machine-god and self-proclaimed protector of humanity. Heeding this warning, Ana confronted Clovis in the experimental Exo frame upon the H.E.L.M. Despite his pleas and honeyed words, Ana opted to upload the newly restored Rasputin AI to the Exo frame, erasing the Clovis instance housed in it.

With Rasputin partially restored, Ana continued in her quest to locate further submind data, to re-arm the Warmind to its full capacity. Clovis' AI still existed within the Bray Exoscience facility on Europa, meaning she still had to contend with its taunts and invitations to follow his plans, though she continued her defiance.

The newly discovered Spire of the Watcher led Ana to recruit a fireteam, after Osiris informed her that the Guardian had prevented the Vex from extracting then erasing any Golden Age intelligence it may have contained. Travelling to the Spire, she landed with her team, intending to extract all data possible, while also setting off the EMP defence systems to destroy any remaining Vex. Getting into an extended gunfight with Sol Divisive Vex who detected their presence, Ana successfully compressed the available data, downloaded it and made it away before the EMP blast went off, marking a successful extraction mission.

Personality and traits
Free-spirited and adventurous with a sarcastic sense of humor, Ana Bray is determined to seek the answers regarding her past and of her connection to the Warmind, Rasputin. Though regarded as a talented Hunter and a reliable teammate to her fellow Guardians, Ana Bray believed that the Last City never really felt like her home. When finding evidence of her connection to Clovis Bray, Ana grew more and more curious on the nature of her past, to the point where she was willing to defy orders and fake her death. This showcases her rebellious nature as her desire to learn about her past goes against Vanguard doctrine which discourages Guardians to look into their past and focus on ensuring humanity has a future. Even when her Light was suppressed during the Red War, Ana Bray remained steadfast in her mission to locate Rasputin and get the answers she desired, even with the risk of a final death. Though Ana felt alienated from the Last City, she showed a measure of shame after Zavala admonished her for faking her death to pursue her questions while leaving her fellow Guardians during the Red War, Ana Bray nonetheless felt that Rasputin could make a powerful ally.

Throughout the conflict with the Grasp of Nokris Hive faction and the Worm God Xol, Ana Bray continuously believed that the Last City needs Rasputin and his cooperation. As a result, she constantly brought her case of gaining the Warmind's support to a reluctant Zavala who believes that Rasputin will not heed to the priorities of the Vanguard or the safety of humanity. Though Ana proved that Rasputin listens to her, even she can't discern Rasputin's motives with complete clarity. Following the clash with Xol, Ana would struggle to maintain a partnership with Rasputin, both to protect the system and discover other secrets of the Collapse. Ana would feel vindicated that the Warmind aided the Guardians in saving the Last City from The Almighty. However, Ana would be left speechless and horrified after the Darkness silences Rasputin.

After encountering the Guardian, Ana Bray maintained a healthy partnership with them, grateful for their support during her investigations into Clovis Bray and saving Rasputin from Xol.

Ana is well known regarding her obsession with Clovis Bray and Rasputin, often making the Warmind her top priority. When she was approached with the offer to take Cayde-6's place as Hunter Vanguard, as she has the skills and the leadership for the position, and the other Hunters respect her, Ana refused, citing her efforts to repair Rasputin to be more important. She would admit that her fixation with her family's company and Rasputin is rooted in her initial perception of Clovis Bray after she was risen as a Lightbearer. Ana once believed that the Clovis Bray family and their company were paragons of the Golden Age, pioneers into the unknown, but after discovering evidence of their more morally questionable actions and actually meeting her grandfather, his AI personality on Europa, she is left angry with herself for believing her own lies. Her anger towards her grandfather would be solidified after learning the full scope of her grandfather's crimes and of his true intentions during Season of the Seraph, feeling betrayed that Clovis nearly used her to satisfy his own desire of being humanity's only savior. Though she would find a sense of closure after reuniting with her sister, Elsie Bray, she still had a tendency to be obsessed with her family's company, specifically wanting to repair Rasputin but under the goal of protecting humanity. Elsie would comment that Ana shares their grandfather's determination to achieve their goals but states that she has her trust and faith, making her nothing like Clovis in that regard.

Similar to other Vanguard members, Ana is welcoming to an alliance with the House of Light and the Imperial Cabal, citing the benefits they could have and in giving humanity more allies against a Second Collapse.

Quotes

 * "I know what you're thinking, she's with Clovis Bray, she must have all the answers! But I'm just in the dark as you are on the Deep Stone Crypt."
 * "I know what you're thinking. She's from Clovis Bray, she must have all the answers about my past and the Deep Stone Crypt. Despite all my digging, I'm still in the dark on a lot of things."
 * "Rasputin predicted you'd return. Just kidding!"
 * "You have any updates?"
 * "If I missed something, let me know."
 * "Anything I can help with?"
 * "I admit, Rasputin can be a little temperamental. Nothing to worry about though. He just wants to help us!"
 * "This place has definitely seen better days."
 * "Let's make it happen!"
 * "Let me know if you find any Golden Age tech out there."
 * "Stay sharp."
 * "Feels good to be back."
 * "See you later."
 * "Gimme one sec."
 * "Let's get the ball rolling."
 * "Are you adjusting to Mars yet?"
 * "I'm ready when you are."
 * "Still in one piece?"
 * "We could've used a Guardian like you at Twilight Gap."
 * "I don't bite. Let me know if you need something."
 * "Back so soon? How can I be of assistance?"
 * "I really believe Rasputin can do some good. We just need to trust him, and then he'll trust us."
 * "I hate how the Cabal think they can raid this place! They don't get to walk in here and take things from my family!"
 * "Take as much time as you need."
 * "I look busy but I can multitask. Need something?"
 * "How's Ikora doing? She was one tough Warlock. You remind me of her in a lot of ways."
 * "How are you liking Valkyrie? I wish we had weapons like that at Twilight Gap."
 * "The Tower wasn't my favorite place, but I had a lot of friends there. I belonged to it and it belonged to me."
 * "Things change so quickly these days. Can't even keep up anymore."
 * "What do you want, Rasputin? I see your sense of humor hasn't change."
 * "I don't have access to some of these files. What will I do..."
 * "Anomaly in the Reef... But I thought-- Nope! I don't have time for that right now."
 * "Why do you keep rewriting moral structures? This is why people have problems with you, you know."
 * "Rasputin recorded a substantial amount of Guardian traffic at some place on Earth called The Weep. The strange part is, not a lot of bullets were fired."
 * "Did you ever meet Andal? He taught me a lot about being a Hunter. He kept telling people that Cayde was Rasputin, though."

Fragmented

 * ""The Heph index is huge now! Rasputin has made some--"
 * "You should've seen Freehold in the old days. My grandfather put ??? on the map ????"

Trivia

 * Ana was originally voiced by Jamie Chung in Warmind, but was replaced by Erika Ishii in Season of the Worthy.
 * A heavily redacted diary belonging to Ana Bray could be found in a Daito office above the hangar in the Tower.
 * One of the scannable items in the Warmind vault on Io had been scrubbed clean of all data by a user named Bray; these could have been Ana herself, or one of the members of the Bray family during the Golden Age.

List of appearances

 * Destiny
 * The Taken King
 * Destiny: Warmind (comic)
 * Destiny 2
 * Warmind
 * Forsaken
 * Black Armory
 * Joker's Wild
 * Season of Opulence
 * Shadowkeep
 * Season of Dawn
 * Season of the Worthy
 * Season of Arrivals
 * Beyond Light
 * Season of the Chosen
 * Season of the Splicer
 * The Witch Queen
 * Season of the Seraph