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Contents
- 1. Who Is The Traveler In Destiny?
- 1.1. What Is Known About the Traveler’s Interior?
- 1.2. What Motivates The Traveler?
- 2. What Is The Traveler’s Ancient History?
- 2.1. Why Did the Traveler Abandon The Civilization?
- 2.2. What Happened On Lubrae?
- 2.3. What Happened On Fundament?
- 2.4. What About The Harmony?
- 2.5. What About Riis and The Whirlwind?
- 3. What Happened During The Golden Age?
- 4. What Happened During The Collapse?
- 4.1. What Was The Timeline of Events?
- 4.2. How Did The Traveler Help Humanity After The Collapse?
- 5. How Did The City Age Begin?
- 6. What Happened During The Red War?
- 6.1. How Did The Guardians Regain Their Light?
- 6.2. What Happened After The Traveler Reawakened?
- 7. How Did The Traveler Share Visions?
- 8. What Happened When An Old Foe Returned?
- 8.1. How Did The Pyramids Arrive?
- 8.2. How Did The Traveler Repair Itself?
- 9. What Disturbing Revelations Were Revealed?
- 9.1. What Happened In The Court Of Savathûn?
- 9.2. What Role Did Rhulk Play?
- 10. What Happened With Nowhere Left To Run?
- 10.1. How Did The Traveler Leave The Last City?
- 11. What Happened During The Last Stand?
- 11.1. How Did The Witness Create A Portal?
- 11.2. How Did The Guardians Pass Through The Threshold?
- 12. How Was The Final Shape Prevented?
- 12.1. How Was The Witness Destroyed?
- 12.2. What Was The Aftermath of The War?
- 12.3. What Echoes Were Emitted?
- 13. What Visions of the Traveler Were Experienced?
- 13.1. First Vision
- 13.2. Second Vision
- 13.3. Third Vision
- 13.4. Fourth Vision
- 13.5. Fifth Vision
- 13.6. Sixth Vision
- 13.7. Seventh Vision
- 13.8. Eighth Vision
- 13.9. Ninth Vision
- 13.10. Tenth Vision
- 13.11. Eleventh Vision
- 13.12. Twelfth Vision
- 13.13. Thirteenth Vision
1. Who Is The Traveler In Destiny?
The Traveler in Destiny is a mysterious, spherical entity of immense power. This paracausal being is associated with the Light and plays a crucial role in the game’s lore. It’s a symbol of hope and protection for humanity, offering powers and acting as a shield against the Darkness.
The Traveler is essentially the source of Light, not the sole source in the universe, but a significant one. Its outer shell comprises lead, neutronium, and “electroweak matter,” materials rooted in a fundamental force that predates the dawn of time.
1.1. What Is Known About the Traveler’s Interior?
The inner workings of the Traveler remain shrouded in mystery. The Ghost Balthazar described the origin of Ghosts as stemming from within the Womb, a space inside the Traveler envisioned as a “cosmos inside a bottle” or an “infinite space enclosed within a celestial egg,” where countless star-like souls are intricately woven together. Meanwhile, another Ghost, Peach, dismissed this description, stating that neither she nor Balthazar could recall their time within the Traveler. Though not explicitly described as the inside of the Traveler, the Pale Heart serves as a domain of the Traveler’s consciousness that can be reshaped by those within it.
1.2. What Motivates The Traveler?
The Traveler appears to be driven by pure altruism, never seeking worship or making its presence known more than necessary to cultivate civilizations. In the past, it would quietly depart once its work was complete. Its defense of humanity seems to be an extraordinary act under dire circumstances.
2. What Is The Traveler’s Ancient History?
The origins of the Traveler are unknown, but it has existed for billions of years. Ahsa suggests the Traveler and the Veil may have once been part of a single entity or share a common origin.
Billions of years ago, the Traveler lay dormant on a desolate planet, where a humanoid species discovered it. Upon awakening, the Traveler terraformed the planet and bestowed paracausal gifts, leading to a golden age for the species who worshiped it as “The Gardener.”
2.1. Why Did the Traveler Abandon The Civilization?
Despite bringing prosperity, the Traveler never communicated or imparted wisdom. The civilization began to crave meaning and sought order and purpose. They viewed the Light as capricious and chaotic.
They discovered the Veil, a counterpart to the Traveler, linked to the mind and consciousness, representing the Darkness. They believed the Darkness held the means to guide the universe into a perfected, eternal form, a “Final Shape.”
To achieve this, they sought to bring the Traveler and the Veil into close proximity. However, the Traveler was unwilling and fled into space. Undeterred, the civilization used the Darkness to merge their consciousnesses into the Witness. The Witness, empowered by the Darkness, began a crusade to find the Traveler and unite it with the Veil.
2.2. What Happened On Lubrae?
Billions of years ago, the Traveler visited the Lubraeans and uplifted their civilization. However, it eventually left, and the Lubraean civilization descended into a military dictatorship.
2.3. What Happened On Fundament?
The Traveler visited the gas giant planet Fundament, uplifting the Ammonite species. Fearing the Traveler would uplift the primitive Krill species, the Witness manipulated Sathona, leading her and her sisters to find the Worm Gods, transforming the Krill into the Hive. The Traveler fled, leaving the Ammonite to die at the hands of the Hive.
2.4. What About The Harmony?
The Hive encountered and defeated the Harmony, another civilization uplifted by the Traveler.
2.5. What About Riis and The Whirlwind?
Before coming to the Sol System, the Traveler visited the planet Riis, uplifting the Eliksni species. As with other worlds, Riis was attacked by the Black Fleet and possibly Oryx’s Hive. The Traveler fled, leaving the Eliksni at the mercy of the Black Fleet, resulting in the destruction of their civilization, known as the Whirlwind.
The Traveler uplifting the Eliksni on Riis, showcasing its initial benevolence and the eventual devastation
3. What Happened During The Golden Age?
During its journey between systems, the Traveler detected a “face” emerging from the Sun and heard a roar containing “a lucid melody.” Feeling joy and “the first hope in ages,” the Traveler resolved to become strong enough to fight the Darkness.
The Traveler first came to human attention when it appeared around Jupiter and terraformed two of its moons. Dubbed “Moon X,” it became the center of international attention. It vanished for periods, reappearing to terraform Mercury and Venus. Cults worshiping it emerged, and others called for the unification of Earth’s governments.
When Moon X approached Mars, the Ares One mission was organized. The team, including Jacob Hardy, Evie Calumet, Ulysses Qiao, and M. Mihaylova, set out to intercept it. Evie dubbed Moon X the “Traveler.” By the time the ship landed on Mars, the Traveler had brought the first rain to the desert planet. It helped humanity expand across the solar system, teaching new technologies and leading humanity into a Golden Age.
4. What Happened During The Collapse?
The Black Fleet appeared in the Sol System, leading to the destruction of almost all human civilization in an event known as the Collapse. The Traveler decided to stand and fight the Black Fleet, abandoning its work on Io to rescue humanity.
4.1. What Was The Timeline of Events?
The exact timeline remains unclear, but the Traveler made a final stand against the Black Fleet, incurring severe damage. During the battle, it projected a beam of Light to protect the Exodus Colony ship Yang Liwei from the Black Fleet.
The Black Fleet withdrew after Savathûn tricked the Witness into calling off the attack. Savathûn had killed Nezarec and hidden the Veil on Neptune. The Traveler remained floating above Earth, seemingly dormant, stripped of its senses.
As humanity struggled to rebuild, the crippled Traveler gifted its protection and powers to humans. They began to re-explore their solar domain with its help.
4.2. How Did The Traveler Help Humanity After The Collapse?
In its last breath, the Traveler created the Ghosts to seek out those who could wield its Light. The Ghosts revived fallen warriors as Lightbearers to protect humanity. However, many Lightbearers became Warlords, subjugating survivors during the Dark Age. Lightbearers with integrity formed groups like the Iron Lords to stand against the Warlords. Over time, the Warlords were defeated.
5. How Did The City Age Begin?
The remnants of humanity built the Last City beneath the resting place of the Traveler, safe from alien races and Warlords. The people of the early City formed factions, leading to the Faction Wars. A new generation of Lightbearers known as Guardians emerged, ending the fighting to focus on external threats.
Eventually, a lone Guardian helped the Traveler slowly restore its power by stopping a Hive ritual in the Chamber of Night and destroying the heart of the Black Garden. After these events, the Traveler remained seemingly catatonic.
6. What Happened During The Red War?
Two years after the Taken War, the Cabal Empire’s Red Legion launched a major invasion of Earth, led by Dominus Ghaul. A surprise attack on the Last City trapped the Traveler in a cage to siphon its Light and separate it from the Guardians.
6.1. How Did The Guardians Regain Their Light?
Though trapped, the Traveler sent visions to the Lightless Guardians to seek out a fragment in the European Dead Zone, where they could regain their powers. Ghaul attempted to win the Traveler’s approval but failed and took the Light by force.
When he gloated, the Traveler broke its cage and destroyed Ghaul, healing itself by drawing fragments back into itself. With the invasion ended and the city retaken, the Traveler was declared no longer dead but living once more.
6.2. What Happened After The Traveler Reawakened?
Despite having awoken, the Traveler remained hovering above the Last City without taking direct action. However, Benedict 99-40 claimed that the Traveler had been busy.
7. How Did The Traveler Share Visions?
A year after the Traveler woke, Ikora Rey revealed that it had been speaking to her and other Guardians through visions since its awakening. Ikora instructed Guardians to follow visions of light, eventually leading them to Io, where they gained new abilities.
8. What Happened When An Old Foe Returned?
As the Guardians protected the Last City and the Solar System from various threats, the Traveler’s old enemy, the Witness, slowly made its way towards the system. Though the Guardians glimpsed the Darkness from their discovery of a Pyramid on Luna, the threat ominously hung over them. The Witness made contact with the Guardian, addressing them as their “salvation.”
8.1. How Did The Pyramids Arrive?
Following the Almighty’s destruction, a massive fleet of Pyramid vessels descended upon the Sol System, confirming that the Traveler’s counterpart had returned. However, the Traveler remained motionless over the Last City, even as the Pyramids touched down on various worlds. Zavala noted that the Traveler appeared to do nothing to combat its ancient enemy. Nonetheless, the Guardians continued to work on deciphering the Witness’s messages while protecting their holdouts.
8.2. How Did The Traveler Repair Itself?
As the Pyramids approached and consumed Io, Mars, Mercury, and Titan, the Traveler gathered light to repair the damage caused by the events of the Red War.
The Traveler later called out to Crow, sending him dreams of flying over the European Dead Zone and other areas he had previously visited. The Guardian discovered paracausal feathers at each site featured in these dreams. The Crow and the Guardian were led by a spectral hawk made of Light to a previously undiscovered shard of the Traveler. On top of the shard lay an effigy of the Hawkmoon.
The Traveler repairing itself, signifying its resilience and determination to protect humanity
9. What Disturbing Revelations Were Revealed?
During the events of The Witch Queen, the Guardian discovered that the Traveler seemingly intentionally chose to grant the Light to Savathûn and her Lucent Brood for an unknown purpose. Through the usage of the Relic on Mars, it was learned that the Witness tricked the Hive into becoming its servants to avoid them being uplifted by the Traveler itself.
9.1. What Happened In The Court Of Savathûn?
As a method of protecting the Traveler from destruction, Savathûn attempted a ritual to bring the Traveler into her throne world, after which she would seal off entry for all beings. Despite succeeding in drawing the Traveler in, Savathûn was defeated, and the spell was broken, causing the Traveler to return to the Last City’s sky. Whether it truly wished to be brought to the throne world, wishing for the Hive to supplant the Humans, Exo, and Awoken as its Guardians, and if it even purposely chose the Hive, is still unknown.
9.2. What Role Did Rhulk Play?
At some point during these events, Rhulk had the Scorn under his command bring him a Ghost for study. His efforts were thwarted by the Traveler, who took direct control of the Ghost and rebuked Rhulk before causing the Ghost to explode.
10. What Happened With Nowhere Left To Run?
Despite the disturbing revelations of the Traveler gifting the Hive the Light, it remained within the Last City as the Guardians prepared for the Witness’s return and prevented a Second Collapse from happening. Though the Guardians gained allies in the form of the Imperial Cabal and the Eliksni House of Light, battled resurgent enemies such as Calus becoming a Disciple of the Witness and Eramis breaking free of her Stasis cocoon, the Traveler’s old foe drew closer. Lately, the Guardians worked to restore the Warmind Rasputin so he could regain control over the Warsat Network before Eramis and Xivu Arath’s Wrathborn, forced to work alongside Clovis Bray I, who would later be relieved to possess the delusion that only he was worthy of being humanity’s savior as he originally intended to have Rasputin destroy and then replace the Traveler. Following this, Clovis was cast out, but Eramis nonetheless gained access to Rasputin’s protocol to attack the Traveler, ABHORRENT IMPERATIVE, if it ever intended to leave Earth.
10.1. How Did The Traveler Leave The Last City?
Racing to stop Eramis, the Guardians boarded Seraph Station, the command hub of the Network. Though they succeeded in uploading Rasputin into the station, Eramis managed to activate his protocol for the Warsats to attack the Traveler. At this point, the Last City became active as the Traveler began drifting away from Earth, causing uncertainty to spread amongst its denizens. Believing that the Great Machine is abandoning another civilization to save itself, Eramis gave the Warsats the order to fire. However, Rasputin succeeded in activating his AURORA SACRIFICE self-destruct protocol, destroying the entire Warsat Network along with himself, saving the Traveler, who remained still within Earth’s outer orbit instead of leaving entirely.
Confused and enraged at why the Traveler isn’t fleeing, the Witness answered its servant, stating that the Traveler simply has no place left to run, as it had arrived in the Sol System with the Black Fleet and a vessel containing its latest Disciple. Zavala, however, believed that the Traveler is actually taking a stand against its old foe.
The Traveler leaving the Last City, a moment of uncertainty and impending conflict
11. What Happened During The Last Stand?
After the loss of the Warsat Network, the Witness and its Black Fleet moved on the Traveler. Alongside the Vanguard fleet, the Traveler attempted to defend itself by firing a beam of Light at the Witness’ Pyramid, causing paracausal flora to sprout over the Pyramid’s surface, but this did not hinder the Witness as it left its Pyramid behind and floated out through empty space to meet the Traveler directly, effortlessly destroying any enemy vessel that attempted to stop it. Eight other Pyramids took up a formation around the Traveler, resembling an eight-pointed star. The Witness attempted to open a gateway using the Traveler, but was denied before seeing a vision of Neptune, where the means it needed to create its gateway, the Veil, was located, sending its Disciple, Calus and his Shadow Legion, to acquire it.
11.1. How Did The Witness Create A Portal?
Despite the efforts of the Guardian, Osiris and the Cloud Striders in slaying Calus, the Witness nonetheless won in acquiring the Veil, allowing it to establish a connection with the Traveler and open a gateway by inscribing a triangle on the surface of the Traveler. This opened a triangular portal, which absorbed several Pyramids before the Witness entered, leaving the Vanguard and their allies confused and dismayed.
Exactly what this outcome meant for the Traveler remains unclear; the Guardians still had access to their Light-based abilities, but their Ghosts felt a sense of emptiness where the Traveler used to be. The Vanguard regarded the Traveler as having been lost, but its physical form remained in orbit around Earth, with the giant triangular portal having stayed open after the Witness passed through.
Later during the Clash of the Hive Gods, Immaru claimed that he could still sense the Traveler within his light, but differently. He described it as a sense of desperation, tension, and terror. He also claimed that the Witness was doing something terrible to it, describing the Traveler as a god screaming for help.
11.2. How Did The Guardians Pass Through The Threshold?
The Guardians would learn of a way to pass through the Threshold upon the Traveler after making a risky bargain with the spirit of the Last Ahamkara, Riven. In exchange for safeguarding the remainder of her eggs, thereby preserving the Ahamkara species, Riven would use her powers to alter the Ley Lines to open the way into the Traveler’s Pale Heart. However, this wish would only allow one to pass, leading Crow to volunteer himself as he possessed a unique paracausal bond with Mara that would allow others to be guided through. After securing the last of Riven’s clutch, the Ahamkara used the last of her energies to create a gateway for Crow to pass through. Though contact with Crow was lost after he passed through the Threshold, Mara could still sense him, leading the Coalition to be confident they could follow him.
12. How Was The Final Shape Prevented?
Ultimately, the Witness gained enough control over the Traveler’s Light within the Pale Heart to begin enacting its Final Shape, beginning with Earth and all who dwell on it. However, the Traveler resisted the Witness’s control and undid its efforts to enact the Final Shape, but the entity’s corruption brought a great deal of pain to the Traveler. With time short, the Coalition initiated Operation Ahamkara to stop the Witness, with the Vanguard leaders and the Guardian passing through the Threshold with Mara’s guidance. Though the group became separated upon entering the Pale Heart and lost contact with those outside, the Guardian learned to wield both Light and Dark together, called Prismatic, while slowly reuniting with Crow, the Vanguard and a miraculously revived Cayde-6 as well as learning of a way to destroy the Witness for good.
12.1. How Was The Witness Destroyed?
The Guardian and their Ghost aided Cayde in finding a way to commune with the Traveler directly but instead of talking to the Traveler directly, Cayde spoke with a vision of his Ghost, Sundance, who merely recited the Guardian tenants and spoke that “what was made with the Light, returns to the Light” before being forced out by the Witness. Unsatisfied and frustrated with the Traveler’s silence and cryptic messages, Zavala gave in to temptation by confronting the Witness, where dissenters within the entity’s gestalt consciousness gave the Commander a clue to destroy the Witness. However, before he could learn anymore, Zavala was nearly overwhelmed by the Witness’s influence. Zavala’s Ghost, Targe, arrived and challenged the Witness’s assertion, claiming that it was afraid, leading the Witness to destroy Targe in retaliation but Zavala managed to escape with the aid of his comrades. Despite the loss of his Ghost and Light, Zavala recalled the dissenter’s clue: “What was made can be unmade”, leading Zavala and his allies to conclude that if the Light can be used to enact the Final Shape, then the Light is powerful enough to destroy the Witness.
Traveling to the memory site where the Witness was created, the Guardian battled with the Witness and before giving themselves to the Darkness, the Traveler aided the Guardian by giving them a Sword of Light, which they used to destroy the Veiled Statues as each represented a soul that was part of the Witness. Terrified, in agony and furious, the Witness forced the Guardian out of its collective consciousness, wounding the Lightbearer and their Ghost, forcing them to retreat. Enraged with the Vanguard’s refusing it’s “salvation” and their defiance, the Witness assumed its true terrible form, forcing the Vanguard to also retreat, but were saved by Mara Sov who succeeded in passing through the Threshold upon the H.E.L.M. along with their allies.
The Traveler working to reverse the Final Shape, symbolizing its unwavering commitment to life and hope
12.2. What Was The Aftermath of The War?
Though the Witness won the battle, the Coalition nonetheless possessed a chance to prevent the Final Shape after proving that the Witness could be harmed. Gathering all their forces and allies, the Coalition prepared for the final assault against the Witness, first by thwarting its servants from harvesting the Traveler’s Light and healing the Traveler’s wounds with the aid of Micah-10. Desperate to complete its Final Shape, the Witness began to enact its work but again the Traveler stalled its efforts. A Guardian raid team would assault the Witness’s monolith and after a harrowing clash, the team succeeded in severing the Witness’s hold over the Traveler’s Light, thwarting the Final Shape and further wounding it. Before the raid team could finish off the Witness, the entity escaped, leading the Coalition to prepare for one final battle.
Tracking the Witness’s location, the Coalition and the Lucent Brood (who battled the Witness with their own agenda) launched their attack against the entity and its remaining servants, with Mara Sov and the Witch Queen using their powers to prevent the Witness from escaping again. In a grand final battle, a Guardian team of twelve, along with all of their allies battled with the Witness for the fate of reality. Yet, despite the Witness’s terrible strength, the Guardians further wounded it by targeting its collective consciousness with the Light. Desperate, the Witness erected a barrier to protect itself but the Guardians channeled the Traveler’s Light directly through their Ghosts towards the Witness, unmaking it and finally bringing an end to the War, avenging all the civilizations and species that the Witness had destroyed and victimized in pursuit of the Traveler.
Despite this victory, the tole of channeling the Traveler’s Light through their Ghost was too much, killing their closest companion. Devastated, the Guardian begs the Traveler to bring back their Ghost but the Traveler doesn’t respond. Instead, Cayde arrived and transfered his Light to their Ghost, effectively killing him but reviving Ghost, bringing great relief to the Guardian.
12.3. What Echoes Were Emitted?
The Coalition rejoiced and celebrated the fall of the Witness but acknowledged that its death left a power vacuum that some of its servants were looking to fill. In addition, a mysterious aurora, called the Valence, continued to bleed out from the portal on the Traveler, leading the Vanguard to declare the area a no-fly zone. The Lucent Brood, meanwhile, sought to claim the Pale Heart for themselves, leading them to clash with the Coalition to prevent that. More concerning, pieces of the Witness, called Echoes, were launched from the portal, bearing strong paracausal properties, with one making landfall on Nessus.
Echoes being emitted from the Traveler, indicating the far-reaching consequences of the battle with the Witness
13. What Visions of the Traveler Were Experienced?
The following are visions experienced by Micah-10 and Mithrax in the Pale Heart.
13.1. First Vision
- Micah-10: I feel impressions of the Traveler’s experiences in this object. I can… see them. I will try to interpret as best as I can. This impressions is jumbled, faded, ancient. I see… stars. A haze of cosmic energy, carnelian and jade, whirling into infinity. Fear. Hope. Then — an abrupt severance. Something lost, or — someone? It isn’t clear. Dust clings to the air like motes of starlight… glittering. A new distinction between what is and what was. But a tether remains, indivisible. Light casting a shadow, and shadow defining the shape of Light. Then… no. Nothing. It’s gone. I’m sorry.
- Ikora Rey: You did your best. Thank you for trying.
- Mara Sov: Those colors, I feel like I’ve seen them somewhere before, in a half-remembered dream.
- Micah-10: This may be an ancient memory of the Traveler, something from the dawn of time. It may be so old as to have no significance… And yet, I cannot help but wonder.
13.2. Second Vision
- Micah-10: I can feel the Traveler’s presence radiating from this object. Memories and experiences, emotions and ideas blooming in my mind. I see so many cities. So many peoples, basking in my Light. They study me, and in their discoveries, they come to understand the universe. I am a blueprint for them to follow, a canvas upon which the mysteries of the universe are written. These little gardeners are such careful stewards of fragility. But then… they begin kneeling. They plead, beg, demand. I do not know what to do. There is… confusion, helplessness… guilt. There’s nothing more.
- Mithrax: Does this mean that the Great Machine does not wish to be worshipped?
- Micah-10: I don’t know if I’d interpret it that way. It… may be more a lack of frame of reference. It doesn’t understand reverence or worship. But that doesn’t mean it can’t learn. But that it’s still trying to understand us. Or… maybe it never will. Does that invalidate faith?
- Mithrax: I do not know… It provides a question, and I suppose it is on me to ponder the answer. For the truest answers lie within ourselves.
13.3. Third Vision
- Micah-10: The Traveler’s experiences are imprinted on this object. I can… feel them. Feel its emotions, see what it saw. I will try to interpret. Confusion, frustration, pain… Many needing voices cry out for answers, but there are none to give. They project their own aspirations onto the Traveler, but it is not what they think it is. It does not have the answers they seek. It does not… remember? [gasps] Memory is heavy now. It feels like… [gasps] dense metal, a weight around one’s neck. Nothing but… dread and poisonous doubt remains. It fears the act of thought. I… [breathes deeply] I can’t make out anymore.
- Zavala: Not a god. Not even silent. Just a being, desperate for help. I once thought the Traveler was a foundational cornerstone of the universe. But now it feels… as though it is just as afraid and uncertain as we are.
- The Crow: Just because someone doesn’t have all the answers doesn’t make them any less important. Micah’s vision may seem to say the Traveler didn’t have answers, but that doesn’t mean it sees the universe the same way we do. Perhaps it just has a hard time explaining what it sees to us. There’s many ways to interpret that vision.
13.4. Fourth Vision
- Micah-10: The Traveler’s memories and experiences are imprinted on this object. I will try to translate them… as best as I can. I am… [sighs] afraid. Reunited with a family member? Or — no. Terrified. I — I can feel. They do not want unity; they want stagnation. No! You can’t do this! I won’t let you — [grunts in pain] [breathes heavily] It spreads through me. Dark fingers, memories, remembrances of… [breathes sharply] what is this feeling? I do not want it. I — I shed the infection, and it drops to the world below. Storms rage in my cast-off flesh. [gasps] Storms of recollection. [breathes heavily] I must stop this. [sighs] I’m sorry. [pants]
- Mara Sov: There is no need to apologize for speaking miracles into being. Your gift is just that… Are you well?
- Micah-10: I’ll be fine. Thank you, Your Majesty.
- Mara Sov: Those last few experiences, the “shed infection” and the storms, it reminds me of the Shard of the Traveler that looms over the EDZ.
- Micah-10: I thought as much myself. Perhaps this memory was of the Collapse, or a fusion of several similar memories.
- Mara Sov: Something for us all to discuss over tea, perhaps.
13.5. Fifth Vision
- Micah-10: The Traveler’s life resonates from this object. Experiences I can… try to interpret. I am frightened, but at peace. I am giving away pieces of myself, slicing them off like fingers from a hand. They’re… Ghosts. With each one created, I lose a part of myself. A sacrifice of my faith in… hope against hopelessness. They’re like stars in the night sky. Constellations of my martyrdom, traveling until… they begin to go out. One by one. And… and with each one’s passing, a part of me returns.
- Ghost: There’s… a theory among Ghosts. That if we die, we return to the Light of the Traveler. I don’t know where that belief started.
- Glint: Maybe it’s just something inside of us. A reassurance that, even if we fall, there’s something waiting for us.
- Ghost: A reunion with our creator. And in that… maybe we make it whole again?
- Micah-10: I wish I could tell you for sure. These visions are difficult to interpret.
- Ghost: Still, it’s nice to think, perhaps, all the Ghosts we’ve lost — Sagira, Sundance, Targe — they moved on to somewhere else. Their job completed.
- Micah-10: I like that, too, Ghost.
13.6. Sixth Vision
- Micah-10: There’s an imprint of the Traveler’s experiences in this object. Images, emotions, I… I will try to interpret as best as I can. I feel… Unity. Peace. A sense of belonging and home. Here, inside the Traveler. There is completion, a sense of duty fulfilled. There is another… realm? Or a space? No, a state of being. Union with the Traveler. Light returned and… now memory as well. An eternity within the Traveler, with all Guardians who experienced their final deaths. An afterlife? That’s… all I could make out.
- Ikora Rey: Cayde spoke of his experiences after death as peaceful, and as if he wasn’t alone. Perhaps there’s truth to this, that there can be… something at the end.
- Zavala: For Guardians. I don’t know if I want the Traveler’s heaven… if the people I hope to find won’t be there waiting for me.
- Micah-10: We cannot be sure of anything. These visions are… difficult to parse. Do not give up hope yet. Commander.
13.7. Seventh Vision
- Micah-10: I can… feel the Traveler’s experiences impressed on this object. Feel its emotions, sees what it saw… I will try to interpret. There is a person — no, people. Those born in harmony and attunement with the Light… A few grains of sand, in a desert of time. They… feel. Experience things different than others. See things: visions, dreams, images. Non-linear perspective. I see… the Speaker… Crow… Me. A wave, spanning time and space, upon which we stand. A wave crashing on distant shores, of distant gardens… I… can’t make sense of the rest.
- The Crow: “Waves crashing on distant shores.” It feels like there’s… more, something about ourselves we don’t understand yet.
- Micah-10: Being a Guardian is being a part of something greater. But this… perhaps is another mystery. A larger tapestry. One we are only just becoming aware of.
13.8. Eighth Vision
- Micah-10: Echoes of the Traveler’s experiences vibrate within this object. I can feel them, convey… as much as I can to you. This experience is… chaotic. Changing. Mutable. Matter and consciousness mingling, dreams and memories given shape and form. There… there is something churning. Boiling in the Traveler’s blood. Transformation. Light and Dark. A harmony. All that which is immaterial is material. That which could be, is. Not born from a wish, but born from unconscious thought. The Traveler… has been changed. Changed in ways we cannot undo. Not corrupted, not wounded, but… transformed. And that change is still taking shape. It’s… happening right now.
- Mara Sov: Collisions of Light and Dark have always birthed new, previously unimaginable possibilities. We Awoken were born of such a collision during the Collapse. Time and space itself were rent apart in our birth. But to happen here… to happen to the Traveler? What will the aftermath of such a transformation be? What will be born of the union of Light and Dark? A new era rises in this shadow of uncertainty.
13.9. Ninth Vision
- Mithrax: It is as though I am seeing a sculpture, and the artist’s intent shines through. I will attempt to interpret. A barren desert stretches from horizon to horizon. A sandstorm rages. Cloaked figures stumble through the dunes. They are starving. The wind whips around them, uncovering something buried beneath the sand. The figures, they look upon it with wonder. They have found their salvation. They call it the Gardener.
- Micah-10: The Gardener. You Great Machine, Mithrax. The Traveler. They’re all one and the same. Is there more to this… impression?
- Mithrax: No. There is an edge to the Light… this piece is finished.
13.10. Tenth Vision
- Mithrax: It is as though I am seeing a sculpture, and the artist’s intent shines through. I will attempt to interpret. This is a companion to another piece. What was once covered in sand is now fertile deltas and lush gardens. Hooded figures stand in supplication… but their words are not reverential. Their prayers are questions. Demands.
- Micah-10: Do you feel a respond? Or the— intent to respond?
- Mithrax: No. Like those hooded figures, I feel nothing. There is only silence.
13.11. Eleventh Vision
- Mithrax: It is as though I am seeing a sculpture, and the artist’s intent shines through. I will attempt to interpret. Guardians, the hooded figures again… like the chords of a song, I recognize their impression in the Light. They starve in new and different ways. When the Gardener met their questions with silence, they sought out something who would answer back. Its equal, and opposite.
- Micah-10: The Darkness. This is when the Witness’ people became the Witness.
- Mithrax: Now they reach out once more, to close their hands around the Gardener. To generate the truth for themselves. But it runs.
13.12. Twelfth Vision
- Mithrax: It is as though I am seeing a sculpture, and the artist’s intent shines through. I will attempt to interpret. This is only a brief glimpse, Guardian… A long-legged people creep across a landscape. So focused on the treacherous ground beneath their feet, they have no eyes for the sky. The Great Machine will never know if they dance, sing, if their children sit still by the fire. Their lives are theirs to lead, and… that is all. This piece is finished.
- Micah-10: What is the form of the thought? Regret? Hope?
- Mithrax: I cannot say, and would not guess.
13.13. Thirteenth Vision
- Mithrax: It is as though I am seeing a sculpture, and the artist’s intent shines through. I will attempt to interpret. There were once flickers of playful Light in the endless ocean, but they were smothered by the lies of the deep