Darkness: Difference between revisions

==Overview==

{{Quote|It is the nature of life to favor existence over nonexistence, and to prefer the fertile soil to the poisoned wind. Because those who open their mouths to that wind pass from the world and leave no descendant, whether of flesh or of thought. <br>But imagine the abomination of a world where nothing can end and no choice can be preferred to any other. Imagine the things that would suffer and never die. Imagine the lies that would flourish without context or corrective. Imagine a world without me.|The narrator of ''Unveiling''<ref>'''Bungie (2019/10/1)''', ''[[Destiny 2]]: [[Shadowkeep]], Playstation 4, Activision Blizzard, [[Lore:Unveiling|Unveiling]] - [[Lore:Unveiling#Pleased to Meet You|Pleased to Meet You]]''</ref>}}

===Veiled Figures===

The [[Guardian]]s' explorations of the [[Pyramid]]s, as well as the [[Black Garden]] and the [[Deep Stone Crypt]] on [[Europa]], have revealed a motif that appears to be representative of, or at least associated with, the Darkness: statues of humanoid, veiled figures. All statues thus far encountered are identical in shape, have seemingly feminine features, and are posed with faces turned upward and arms slightly outspread. The significance of these statues is currently unknown, but they appear to be loci of Darkness-related power. [[Clovis Bray I]] had access to one of these statues in the Golden Age, which he named [[Clarity Control]] and used in the production of Exos.

===The Witness===

At an unknown point in the ancient past, [[The Witness]] obtained the power of the Darkness, and embarked upon its eons-long crusade to destroy the Traveler and bring about the Final Shape.

===The Collapse===

{{Quote|Something hit us. Killed our Golden Age. Nearly wiped us out. Only the Traveler saved us, and at a shattering cost.|[[Grimoire]] description.}}

The Collapse was long believed by the [[Vanguard]] and the people of the [[Last City]] to have been caused by the Darkness itself. In reality, it was brought about by the [[Black Fleet]], led by the [[The Witness|Witness]] and its [[Disciples of the Witness|Disciples]], who wielded the Darkness against humanity and the [[Traveler]].

===Events of ''Destiny 2''===

After the death of [[Dominus Ghaul]] and the restoration of the [[Light]] to the [[Guardians]], the [[Black Fleet]] activated in response and started moving ''en masse'' toward the Milky Way.

{{Quote|Who are you?}}

{{Quote|Don't you recognize us? We are not your friend. We are not your enemy. We are your... '''salvation.''' |The Witness and [[The Guardian]]}}  

Eris Morn, after going missing prior to the Red War, stumbled upon a derelict [[The Lunar Pyramid|Pyramid]] beneath the surface of the Moon. She discovered that the Darkness originating from the Pyramid was triggered into unleashing phantasmal [[Nightmare]]s, and that the [[Hidden Swarm]] was harnessing them in a crimson citadel built above the ancient ship, near the [[Hellmouth]], dubbed the [[Scarlet Keep]]. With Eris Morn as their guide and having the Vanguard's approval on handling the situation, the Guardians fought the Hive and the Darkness-powered Nightmares. Using the Hive's knowledge and the essence of the most powerful of Nightmares, Eris was able to forge armor that was capable of resisting the Nightmares.

===Season of Arrivals===

{{quote|The day we've been dreading has finally arrived. The Darkness is here.|[[Zavala|Commander Zavala]]}}

Several days after the Almighty's destruction, the [[Black Fleet]] arrived and began to [[Arrival of the Black Fleet|push into the solar system]]. One Pyramid went to Io, the last place to be touched by the Traveler, and stationed itself over a [[Tree of Silver Wings (Io)|strange tree]] that had grown in the center of the [[Cradle (Io)|Cradle]]. Using a [[Seed of Silver Wings|seed]] retrieved from beneath the roots of the tree, Eris attempted to communicate with the Darkness, but its messages were distorted by interference from Savathûn. The Guardian managed to repeatedly fight Savathûn's forces back, allowing Eris to receive and interpret the Darkness' messages.

Almost half a year after the Pyramids returned, the worlds of Mercury, Mars, Io, and Titan all disappeared from the system, having been transported to an unknown realm by the Witness using the Darkness.

===''Beyond Light''===

{{Quote|The Light believes you thankless. Nothing more than a soldier asked again and again to do its bidding.<br>So we want to thank you. With a gift. To help you finally take control.|The [[Pyramids]] to [[The Guardian|the Guardian]]}}

Sometime during or after the arrival of the Black Fleet, a [[Pyramid (Europa)|sixth Pyramid]] touched down on [[Europa]]. It remained unknown to the rest of the system for a time, until [[Eramis, Kell of Darkness]] and her newly-formed [[House of Salvation]] touched down on Europa and discovered the Pyramid. There, she attempted to harness the power of [[Stasis]], gifted to her and her followers through [[Splinter of Darkness|Splinters of Darkness]] originating from the Pyramid, with the goal of rebuilding the Eliksni Empire and destroying the Traveler.  

{{Quote|This is a SKYSHOCK ALERT.<br> Multiple distributed ISR assets report a TRANSIENT NEAR EXTRASOLAR EVENT. Event duration ZERO POINT THREE SECONDS. Event footprint includes sterile neutrino scattering and gravity waves. Omnibus analysis detects deep structure information content (nine sigma) and internal teleonomy.<br> No hypothesis on event mechanism (FLAG ACAUSAL). Bootstrap simulation suggests event is DIRECTED and INIMICABLE (convergent q-Bayes/Monte Carlo probability approaches 1).|Rasputin}}

The [[Warmind]] [[Rasputin]] was among the first beings in the Sol System to become aware of the arrival of the [[Black Fleet]] immediately prior to the Collapse.<ref>'''Bungie (2014/9/9)''', ''[[Destiny]] PlayStation 4, Activision Blizzard, [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Enemies#Ghost_Fragment:_Darkness|Ghost Fragment: Darkness]]''</ref> Given the unknown nature of the threat at the time, it remains unclear to what degree Rasputin's observations apply to the Black Fleet, the Darkness itself, or both. In any case, measurements taken by Rasputin indicated that the unknown phenomenon was accompanied by sterile neutrinos and gravity waves, seemed to have a structured intelligence and purpose behind its actions, and did not fully obey the known laws of physics. Using the minimal data that he had, Rasputin concluded that the force was hostile and capable of an interplanetary extinction event, causing him to activate defensive protocols and send messages to his subminds to prepare for an imminent attack.

===The Books of Sorrow===

{{Quote|Out in the world we ask a simple, true question. A question like, can I kill you, can I rip your world apart? Tell me the truth. For if I don't ask, someone will ask it of me. <br> And they call us evil. Evil! Evil means 'socially maladaptive.' We are adaptiveness itself.|The Darkness}}

===Guardians===

{{Quote|You are the gardener's final argument. It would mean everything if I could convince you that I am the right and only way.<br>I truly value you. To the gardener, you are a means to an end. To me, you are majestic. Majestic. You are full of the only thing worth anything at all.<br>I am, by the only standard that matters or will ever matter, the winning team. Existence is a test that most will fail. Would you not count yourself among the victorious few?<br>Don't hurry to deliver your answer. I'll come over and hear it myself.|The narrator of ''Unveiling''}}

According to ''Unveiling'', the Darkness desires to sway the Guardians to its philosophy, as it acknowledges them as beings powerful enough to potentially become the "final shape" it wishes to bring about.

===Scorn===

The [[Scorn]] are a horde of undead [[Fallen]] created through the use of [[Dark Ether|Ether infused with Darkness]].

{{clear}}

The Cabal had some texts on their [[athenaeum world]]s that theorized about the Darkness, with the little concrete information the texts contained about the Darkness having been recorded from the "dreams of worms".<ref>'''Bungie (2018/8/5)''', ''[[Destiny 2]]: [[Warmind (expansion)|Warmind]] Playstation 4, Activision Blizzard, [[Equitis_Shade_Armor#Equitis_Shade_Rig|Equitis Shade Rig]]''</ref>

During his exile, the former emperor [[Calus]] sought the means to defeat his usurper [[Ghaul]] by exploring the secret places of the galaxy and pushing the limits of reason once he regains control of the Leviathan. He eventually crossed paths with a perfect void at the edge of the universe, being the Witness and the [[Black Fleet]], and resolved to become its herald.<ref>[[It Stared Back]] Lore</ref> He would watch them consume the light of the universe, and all among the last of the living would know his greatness.<ref>'''Bungie (2017/8/9)''', ''[[Destiny 2]]: PlayStation 4, Activision Blizzard, [[Calus' letter]]''</ref> Calus also knows of the pact that [[Oryx]] made with the [[Worms]], comparing it to Ghaul's takeover of the legions.<ref>[[Cabal Booklet]]</ref> Calus' strange powers and his claims of "''knowing the truth''" about the galaxy and his mockery of the Guardians' "''feeble light''" implies that he may have some knowledge of the Darkness.

===Hive===

The Hive revere the Darkness and serve the [[the Witness|Witness]]. The progenitors of the Hive made a pact with their highest gods, the [[Worms]], who grant the powers of Darkness to the Hive. the Hive god [[Oryx, the Taken King]] stole the power of the Darkness from his patron deity, [[Akka, the Worm of Secrets]], which allowed him to wield the Darkness and create [[Taken]]. The Hive religion, based around the 'Sword-Logic', is based upon the Darkness' philosophy of survival-of-the-fittest and power through conquest.

===Vex===

{{Quote|In all their transformations, they retained that kernel of ultimate self-sufficiency that had made them victors in the flower game.<br>But they are not incontrovertibly destined to rule this cosmos. They were made before Light and Darkness, but the rules are different now, and even this pattern must adapt.<br>They are not all mine, not in the way that admirers such as my man Oryx are mine: utterly devoted to the practice of my principle. But some of them have, nonetheless, found their way home.|The Witness}}

===Awoken & Jovians===

The [[Awoken]] were once humans but were transformed during the Collapse upon reaching the edge of the [[asteroid belt]]. Beyond the belt, "the edge of the Deep Black", the system is totally immersed in Darkness.<ref>'''Bungie (2014/9/9)''', ''[[Destiny]], PlayStation 4, Activision Blizzard, [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Guardian#Awoken|Awoken]]''</ref><ref>'''Bungie (2014/9/9)''', ''[[Destiny]], PlayStation 4, Activision Blizzard, [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Places#Saturn|Saturn]]''</ref> The events of their transformation were further detailed in the Lore book "Marasenna", which reveals that the Awoken were captured in a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kugelblitz_(astrophysics) kugelblitz] formed by the Darkness and Light battling one another in the vicinity of the [[Yang Liwei]]. As a result of this event, the Awoken were reborn as beings containing both Light and Darkness within themselves.

===Taken===

As demonstrated by the [[the Witness|Witness]] and [[Oryx, the Taken King]] the Darkness can be used to take direct possession of other beings, transforming them into [[Taken]]. When a being is Taken, they are warped into the Ascendant Plane, where they are reshaped into spectral ghost-like versions of their former selves, with new paracausal abilities and a single-minded dedication to the one that Took them.