Black Garden: Difference between revisions

The origins of the Black Garden are largely unknown; however, it bears many similarities to an allegorical description of the primordial state of reality, itself described as a "[[garden]]", in which the [[Darkness]] and [[Light]] existed before the universe began. It is unclear whether the two locations are in fact the same; however, [[Eris Morn]] writes of a [[Tree of Silver Wings]] that was felled in the Black Garden, which would seem to suggest that she believes the Black Garden to indeed be the same as the primordial garden that gave rise to the universe.

Pujari's vision mentions that the Black Garden's existence is related to the Traveler's coming to Mars. However, he is careful to point out that "This is not the beginning but it is the reason." The Traveler did not create the Garden, Pujari claims, but its actions may have allowed the Garden to come into existence, because "In these things there is always symmetry." Pujari adds, "The Garden grows in both directions. It grows into tomorrow and yesterday. The red flowers bloom forever. There are gardeners now. They came into the garden in vessels of bronze and they move through the groves in rivers of thought."<ref name = "Pujari"/> The "gardeners" in question are most likely the Vex; Pujari's vision suggests that the Vex did not always inhabit the Black Garden, but came to existence after the [[Darkness|life]] within the Garden called out a question, to which the Vex are the answer.

The first known human expedition into the Black Garden was a pair of [[Awoken]] from the [[Reef]], [[Uldren Sov]] and [[Jolyon Till]]. By then, the location of the Vex gate leading to it was common knowledge, as well as the fact that it could only be entered by tricking the Vex into opening it for them. To enter it, Uldren and Jolyon provoked a Cabal attack on the gate, forcing it to activate and produce a Gate Lord to defend it, and then slipped in while it was distracted.<ref>'''Bungie (2018/9/4)''', ''[[Destiny 2]]: [[Forsaken]], Playstation 4, Activision Blizzard, [[Lore]]: [[Lore:The_Forsaken_Prince#Through_the_Gate|Through the Gate]]''</ref>

After that point, Uldren's recollections grew surreal and dreamlike. His memories included a persistent heartbeat, fleeing through a thorny grove among fruits shaped like [[Ghost]]s, hiding with Jolyon from arguing voices, and putting his [[Crow (device)|Crows]] through a dryer in an apartment block with a perfectly round hole in his hand. Uldren and Jolyon somehow found their way out, bringing some of the native [[Asphodelia|red flowers]] back to the Reef.<ref>'''Bungie (2018/9/4)''', ''[[Destiny 2]]: [[Forsaken]], Playstation 4, Activision Blizzard, [[Lore]]: [[Lore:The_Forsaken_Prince#After_the_Heart_.7C_Part_I|After the Heart Part I]]''</ref><ref name="After Part 2"/>

After learning of the Black Garden's existence from the [[Exo Stranger]], the [[Guardian]] travels to the [[Reef]] to inquire the Garden's location. Queen [[Mara Sov]] and Prince [[Uldren Sov]] reveal that a [[Vex]] portal on [[Mars]] leads to the Garden, but requires the [[Zydron, Gate Lord|Eye of a Vex Gate Lord]] to access. After obtaining the Eye, the Guardian activates the Vex spire controlling the portal and then enters the portal itself.<ref>[http://www.destinydb.com/activities/3467097080-the-gardens-spire '''Destinydb''': ''The Garden's Spire'']</ref> Deep in the Garden, the Guardian discovers the Black Heart, a malevolent entity guarded by the [[Sol Progeny]] that is feeding off of the [[Traveler]]'s [[Light]], keeping it dormant.<ref>[http://www.destinydb.com/activities/1577957526-the-black-garden '''Destinydb''': ''The Black Garden'']</ref> Once the Heart is destroyed, Light returns to the Traveler and it begins to heal. The Garden's dimension ceases to drift and becomes part of Mars, making it accessible to the rest of the Guardians.<ref name = "Destiny"/>

During the Red War, the [[Red Legion]] invaded Mars and broke the Vex stalemate with the [[Cabal]] invasion. In addition to occupying Mars, the Red Legion apparently destroyed the main gate used to access the Black Garden, irrevocably sealing the Garden for the Vex. On Nessus, an access point reports of more than one gardens similar to the Black Garden, it is unclear as to how many are being built or are destroyed, even the foliage on the access even outside the garden is somehow enhancing Vex firewall systems while still being organic and something else <ref>[https://www.ishtar-collective.net/transcripts/ghost-scan-the-tangle-nessus-3?highlight=garden Ghost Scan]</ref>.

When the [[Guardian]] ventures into the [[Pyramid]], an entity takes control of the Guardian's [[Ghost]] and leads the Guardian to a spherical, unknown artifact. Upon interacting with the artifact, the Young Wolf is subjected to a vision within the Black Garden, wherein a doppleganger of the Guardian, possibly being a manifestation of the [[Darkness]] speaks to them. The doppleganger states that they have "Heard your cries for help" and would soon answer. When questioned as to what the being was, the doppleganger stated that they were not the Guardian's friend nor enemy, but rather their Salvation.

However, the Vex would not take this incursion into the Black Garden lightly. The destruction of the Sol Inherent minds prompt the [[Pyramids]] to reawaken the [[The Undying Mind|Undying Mind]]. In turn, the Undying Mind copied itself across thousands of timelines after learning from its precious encounters; causing the Sol Divisive Vex to invade the Moon en masse in effort to bar entry into the Black Garden.  

After weeks of holding the Sol Divisive back, the Guardians follow Ikora's plan to use a beacon to pull one of the thousand copies of the Undying Mind from the timeways, giving them an opportunity to destroy the Axis Mind. The Guardian push forward against the latest Vex Offensive, breaching into the Black Garden once again and planting the beacon. As planned, the beacon draws a copy of the Undying Mind and after a perilous struggle, the Guardians succeed in destroying the Undying Mind. However, as thousands of copies of the Mind existed, the Guardians were forced to continually destroy the copies one-by-one using the same process. Eventually, every last copy of the Mind was destroyed. However the destruction of the Undying Minds caused the [[Corridors of Time]] to fracture, which proved an opportunity for the Red Legion to split [[Mercury]] into alternate timelines with the hijacked [[Sundial]].