Lyn (she/they)

The Dark Future was a lorebook introduced in the Beyond Light expansion. It covers some of the anguise The Exo Stranger faced in the future she has returned from, the one we need to prevent. Here is the shortened version of the pages, so you can know what we were fighting to prevent in Beyond Light!

• Somewhere along the way, Humanity lost, an event called The Bombardment happened (assumedly House Salvation hit us using the warsat network) and Savathûn as well as the forces of Darkness are at large. The Traveler left us, we were left in ruins.

• Elsie Bray, also known as the Exo Stranger, is found by her sister Ana Bray, who is now lightless. Ana wants Elsie to teach her Stasis, Elsie doesn't want to in order to keep her safe. Ana says that with Stasis and what remains of Rasputin, they can beat Savathûn, and Elsie reluctantly agrees.

• They go to the Deep Stone Crypt, still intact, albeit sieged by House Salvation, to make an Exo Frame for Rasputin. Ana sympathizes with Clovis Bray for a moment, and they find the corpse of The Drifter¹ in the production room. After conversing about what Clovis has done, the exo frame emerges and Rasputin is reborn.

• Elsie and Ana return to a demolished Last City, and they argue about their past as a family. Zavala finds them and holds them at gunpoint, he is lightless, deteriorating, and missing a leg. Ana asks Zavala if Ikora is here, and Zavala responds by telling them that she's been buried underneath the Tower. Zavala is hopeless, it's heartbreaking, he says that whatever Ana has planned it will get her killed, and whatever she's looking for at the City isn't here. It is revealed that in this timeline, Elsie never helped us destroy the Black Heart³, and it corrupted Guardians. Zavala is impressed that they have Rasputin, but he reveals a large twist, that Savathûn, The Witch Queen, is pawn to another, that being Eris Morn.

• Rasputin finds the blueprints for Ghaul's Traveler cage in the Almighty's computers, and Zavala finally agrees to assist. Rasputin can track the Traveler, but they need numbers in order to build the Traveler's snare to bring it back, and Zavala points to one Mara Sov.

• On their space-voyage to find Mara Sov, Ana asks for Stasis again, and Elsie once again turns her down. Zavala overhears that Elsie is using Stasis and asks her to consider that it is not for the better to control a power alone, and she should consider what her sister asks of her. They finally make it to Mara Sov's new headquarters, aboard the Leviathan.

• Mara has Eliksni² and Cabal working alongside her Awoken, and Ana asks about the Vex. Mara answers, she says that Eris holds them under her control, they are trapped within time itself until summoned. Zavala and Mara has a conversation about how they do not trust Ana, and they soon capture the Traveler.

• Elsie asks Zavala about the conversation he had with Mara, Zavala confirms that she doesn't trust Ana, and her previous conversation with Elsie about her was to test her.

• They make landing on the moon and fight off Hive and Dark Guardian alike, and Zavala begins to siphon Light from the traveller as Ghaul did during the Red War. He advanced to the Scarlett Keep to kill Savathûn. Eris summons her Techeun turncoats that are defeated by the Warmind, but there's been a liar. Eris thanks Ana for bringing all of her enemies to one place, and with that, Ana stabs the Awoken Queen in the chest. Elsie fights Ana, and ends up killing her, but Eris has won, and the Traveller as a last resort encases all in it's light.

• When the Light fades, Elsie is back in time, she is in The Tower on the day that Cayde-6 is appointed Hunter Vanguard all those years ago. She laments about this scene, she's tired of seeing it over and over again, this clearly isn't the first time the Light has lost. Elsie believes she is being tormented, but makes a vow to save her sister.

¹ It is assumed that the Drifter did something big in this timeline. In ours Drifter and Ana don't have much of a connection, but Ana goes as far to say that Drifter got what he deserved. We cannot trust Ana as she is corrupted, so we do not know if the Drifter acted for good or for evil.

² For those who don't know, the true name of the Fallen is the Eliksni. The term "Fallen" is somewhat of an attack, saying that they have "fallen" from grace because of the Whirlwind.

"A Man With No Name" lorebook reveals the origins of the polarizing character being The Drifter, some people enjoy his laid-back, witty-tongued nature, some people despise the fact that he's the figurehead of the grueling Gambit playlist. Here is a quick summary of "A Man With No Name"'s 9 pages.

The Drifter is resurrected by his Ghost during the Dark Ages, his ghost tells him to go one way, Drifter runs the opposite, getting himself killed in the process. His Ghost resurrects him, but he still runs in the opposite direction.

Drifter, in his trek away from wherever his Ghost wants him, begins to die of starvation, his Ghost asks if he can help his Guardian, Drifter refuses on the grounds of "Don't need you. I got this" The Ghost implores the Drifter to give himself a name, or perhaps name his Ghost, Drifter refuses, and dies to a scorpion sting.

The Drifter begins to live in a small village named Eaton, he keeps his ghost a secret and lives amongst mortals. He takes on the name of Germaine.

The Iron Lords, lead by Iron Lord Dryden, offer Eaton resources for the harsh winter to stay at their village and use it to set a trap for a notorious Warlord known as the Red Man. A well-known man in Eaton named Judson protests, saying that being around any Risen¹ will get them killed.

A small child talks to Drifter of Judson, that she agrees with him, that the Risen are awful. The Drifter talks how, without the food the Iron Lords had given them, her parents would've starved to death.

Judon attempts to leave Eaton, wanting to get out before his predicted shootout takes place. He says that the Risen kill by nature, and no matter of negotiating will change that. Drifter attempts to get Judson to stay, but he leaves anyways.

A group of 6 Risen Warlords return a week later with Judson, with The Red Man leading them. The people of Eaton accept Judson back, but the Red Man questions where the Iron Lords are on grounds that they saw a Ghost about theie town.

A very bloody fight breaks out amongst Eaton residents, Iron Lords, and Warlords, Drifter's Ghost flies away to a safe space. It is unclear who won the battle, but it is said that multiple risen leave the battle alive, Iron Lord Dryden is one of them.

Drifter is resurrected after the battle amongst the ruins of Eaton, everyone is dead, or gone. Ghost calls him Germaine, Drifter tells him that it isn't his name. He buries the bodies, and finds a barely alive Judson, who sees that Drifter is Risen, accuses him of killing Eaton, then dies.

The Drifter's Ghost tells him that The Drifter has done wrong, that he needn't live amongst mortals, that he can be so much more, in response, Drifter raises his hand towards the Traveller and gives it the bird. 🖕

The Drifter now operates a bar at the base of Felwinter's Peak, he lives under the name Wu Ming and runs "The End of the World Bar"

Citan (Yes, of Citan's Ramparts) comes to take all of Drifter's Food and drink, Lady Efrideet stands up for the bar and wins in a gunfight against Citan and his fireteam.

Drifter climbs Felwinter's Peak to speak to Felwinter, asking him to kill Iron Lord Dryden for wronging Eaton. It is Iron Lord code to not meddle with mortal affairs in the midst of Risen conflicts. Felwinter turns him down, but after he leaves, Felwinter tells his ghost to ready his Iron Banner arsenal.

As many collectible weapons and armor sets in Destiny have little entires attatched to them that tell some of the story. Some full sets tell a larger story, not unlike the Eidolon Pursuit suit and other relevant examples. The Deep Explorer set from the Duality dungeon is no exception of that- but it does come with a twist. See, the Deep Explorer set has a personal story from the Cabal Emperor Calus, except it's spread across the five pieces, with sections censored and exposed at certain points, having the reader having to stitch together the jumbled entires to form the bigger picture. As this process can be long and frustrating for those who cannot refind the place they were at last, here is Calus's message, a tale of loss, of emptiness, restitched by me so you don't have to:

"When I was young, I dreamt of a greater life. Grand aspirations, grand imaginings. I looked back to the myths of our people's past to draw inspiration and shape a future that was yet unwritten— I saw possibility, boundless, and unending. My focus was wide, beyond the horizon, to tomorrow's tomorrow.

Until that day—

I held the tiny hands of my newborn daughter for the first time. She crawled into my brood pouch, smaller than a finger, helpess and blind. I was entire world for eight extraordinary weeks, as her skin hardened and her eyes developed. She nursed, grew strong, and slept to the sound of my hearts beating in time with hers.

I did not see her mother for those eight weeks; she stood watch outside of my nursing chamber, and her ceremonial vigil honoured our family and house, the old ways made manifest in tusk and steel. None would threaten me, our newborn daughter, or her future's future.

My focus changed over those weeks, and with it my dreams narrowed to the size of my thumb. It was pride unlike any other. My grandest inspiration. I needed no other.

But... my momentum faltered over time. I first noticed it when my daughter was old enough to walk on her own; then again when her tusks were sharp enough to defend herself. Day by day she grew, and piece by piece, I lost myself. And when she was no longer there, I felt a great abscence, greater than the sum of her parts. I indulged myself in this sensation, until the day I became lost in such a hollow feeling.

And I let the void in my chest consume me."

I was bored, and I'm REALLY into Destiny 2, so I went through and read EVERYTHING that has been said about the game's fungus of darkness: egregore. If you're interested in Destiny lore and always wanted to know more about egregore, here is every fact we've been told about it!

• Egregore is found on Emperor Calus's ship the Glykon, it is described as a type of fungus, coating oneself in its spores allows passage through strange barriers.

• Savathûn as Osiris called the egregore "cores of Darkness." and points out how The Drifter houses similar flora.

• Emperor Calus's Leviathan returns and parks itself above the Moon, the star-eating ship is infested with the egregore, with a new type of it, petrified egregore, players can collect this, which means it is safe/stable for humans to be around.

• Research into the normal egregore takes place in earth, but after the fungus proves itself unsafe the project is shut down, and all samples of the fungus on Earth are burned to prevent any spread.

• The egregore has some sort of potential link to the nightmares, as the Nightmare Harvester is comprised of the following materials:

- Fundamental Osminium

- Petrified Egregore

- Soulfire Ichor

- Dark Ether

• The egregore latches onto a host's skull and acts as a superior nervous system, bending its host's will to the Darkness.

• "Egregore opens one's consciousness to the Darkness, allowing passage through fungal barriers" - Eris Morn

• Eris Morn describes the egregore to a hidden agent, describing it as something similar to the synapses of our nervous system. It is a physical manifestation of Darkness. "Like Stasis. But unlike Stasis, it appears to be an "impure" manifestation- her words, not mine."

• Sometime during Season of the Haunted, Eris learns that the Drifter has egregore with him, he's had it for years; he's had it since he returned to Earth after the Red War.

• The place The Drifter took egregore from was that unnamed icy planet outside of the system. This planet is riddled with "alien monoliths" that each house creatures that appear to be frozen in ice, these creatures have a light supressing field to them, and are described as being gooey and without heads. Their bioenergies are similar to that of Hive, but no such records of these creatures exist, they are said to slither, thousands of them live on the planet. These monoliths seem to be Pyramid-esc, just as there is creatures frozen in all the pyramids we've been inside.

• The egregore "sings" when it is burned, as Drifter calls it, this "singing" establishes some sort of resonance with the pyramids.

• Eris burns egregore on Europa and The Throne World, she sees the pyramids of Europa, The Moon, and the Throne World merge, along with the Glykon and the Leviathan.

• During Season of Defiance, a warlock named Druis discovers Egregore in the Ascendant Plane, she is nearly conquered by it. I would describe the way egregore ensnares its prey is somewhat horrifying. Any attempts for Druis to channel her light are temporarily thwarted by the growths, a "persuasive whisper" reaches through her mind, and terrible memories return to her. Druis eventually channels light and obtains an Awoken Favour. Open being granted the favour of the Awoken, the egregore behaves in a way we have not seen before- It crystalizes into something reminiscent of amethyst, and shatters. The remaining infestation physically recoils as if being burned away in reaction to her light, sulking away.