Editing Great Disaster

{{Title|The Great Disaster}}
{{Battle infobox
|prev= [[Battle of Burning Lake]]
|next= [[Battle of the Twilight Gap]]
|image=
|conflict=
|date=
|place= [[Ocean of Storms|Mare Imbrium]], [[Moon|The Moon]]
|result=*Decisive Hive victory
**[[Crota]] returns to the [[Ascendant Realm]] to recover his strength
**The [[Vanguard]] declares the Moon an off-limits zone for Guardians operations
*The possibility of a centralized and organized military and civilian structure composed of Guardians disappears
**Vanguard role and prestige weakened
**The culture of the Guardians is oriented towards the pursuit of glory and loot rather than defending the interests of Humanity
**Three person [[fireteam]]s are developed
|side1= [[The Last City]]
|side2= [[Spawn of Crota]]
|side3=
|side4=
|commanders1=*[[Eriana-3]]
*[[Wei Ning]]
*[[Gunnvor]]
*[[Cayde-6]]
*[[Lord Shaxx]]
|commanders2= *[[Crota, Son of Oryx]]
*[[Sardon, Fist of Crota]]
*[[Swarm Princes]]
**[[Banuk, Ur Prince]]
**[[Dakoor, Yul Prince]]
**[[Garok, Xol Prince]]
**[[Merok, Eir Prince]]
|commanders3=
|commanders4=
|forces1= *Thousands of Guardians
|forces2= *Countless Hive
**One thousand of Crota's [[Knight]]s
|forces3=
|forces4=*Thousands of Guardians 
|casual1=*Hundreds of Guardians
**Wei Ning
**Gunnvor
|casual2=*Thousands of Hive
|casual3=
|casual4=
|civilian=*Unknown
}}
{{quote|My name is Eriana-3, disciple of the [[Praxic Warlocks]], marked by the Cormorant Seal. Survivor of the great disaster: the day we set out to retake our [[Moon]], united in a host of thousands, and found ourselves outmatched by one [[Hive]] [[Crota, Son of Oryx|champion]] of unspeakable power.|[[Eriana-3]]}}

The '''Great Disaster''' was a battle fought between thousands of [[Guardian]]s and the [[Hive]] to take control of the [[Moon]].

==Overview==
===Prelude===
{{Quote|What madness is this!"<br>"[[Lord Shaxx]]! The [[Consensus]] did not—"<br>"[[Guardians|We]] barely eked out victory at [[Battle of Burning Lake|Burning Lake]]. And now you think we're ready to attack the [[Moon]]?"<br>[...]<br>"[[Zavala]]! You can't think this is wise. We need to examine these [[Sword of Crota|swords]], train against them—"<br>"This is a matter for the Consensus to decide, old friend.}}

Shortly after discovering the Hive during the [[Battle of Burning Lake]], the [[Vanguard]] and the [[Consensus]] ordered a full-scale assault on the Moon to establish a beachhead for future plans of reclamation. However, [[Lord Shaxx]] warned the Consensus that the [[Ascendant Sword]]s carried by the Hive [[Knight]]s were unlike any weapon he'd seen before and that they should delay the attack. However, the Consensus and Vanguard went ahead with the battle plans anyway, confident in the Guardian's abilities to reclaim Luna.<ref>'''Bungie (2015/9/15)''', ''[[Destiny]]: [[The Taken King]] -  [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Inventory/Heavy Weapons#Raze-Lighter|Raze-Lighter]]''</ref>

===The Battle===
{{Quote|I vividly remember the stories from that night. The sky burning green, the roar of thunder ripping through the darkness, and the Eater of Hope tearing through our ranks. Crota, the merciless Hive prince whose dark campaign to pursue the Traveler led to the slaughter of countless worlds—all in the name of his father, Oryx, the Taken King.|Eris Morn.}}
The Guardians who arrived fell by the hundreds, as leading the Hive army was the God-[[Prince]] [[Crota, Son of Oryx]], an invincible Knight who devoured the [[Light]] of the Guardians.<ref>'''Bungie (2015-1-23)''', ''[[Destiny]], [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Places/Moon#Moon|Moon]]''</ref> Guardians deployed the same tactics from the [[Great Ahamkara Hunt]], in which they intended to overwhelm the enemy with the quantity of their forces. However they didn't take into consideration the [[Sword Logic]], which allowed the Hive to target the weak points in the Guardian force.<ref>'''[[The Hidden Dossier]]''', ''pg [[The Hidden Dossier#((08))|8]]''</ref> [[Mare Imbrium]] was one of the battlefields, as Crota led one thousand Knights against over five hundred Guardians, easily cutting through them. The legendary [[Titan (class)|Titan]] [[Wei Ning]] was personally killed by Crota here. It was claimed the sky above the region "turned into [[Oversoul|green fire]]" and that the battle cracked open the surface of Luna itself.<ref>'''Bungie (2015-1-23)''', ''[[Destiny]], [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Guardian/Classes#Ghost Fragment: Warlock 2|Ghost Fragment: Warlock 2]]''</ref>

During this campaign, an unknown Titan created the first [[Thunderlord]], along with two other machine guns that came to renown: [[Nova Mortis]] and [[Abbadon]]. Though the Thunderlord survived, its counterparts were lost.<ref>'''Bungie (2015-1-23)''', ''[[Destiny]], [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Inventory/Heavy Weapons#Nova Mortis|Nova Mortis]]''</ref>

===Aftermath===
In the aftermath, the Vanguard scrambled to salvage the remaining resources of the battle as losses were nearly incalculable. They then classified the Moon as forbidden, and not to be visited unless absolutely necessary.<ref>'''Bungie (2015-1-23)''', ''[[Destiny]], [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Places/Moon#Ghost Fragment: The Ocean of Storms|Ghost Fragment: The Ocean of Storms]]''</ref>

On the Hive's side, the massacre was only halted by the coincidental death of one of Crota's foremost generals in the [[Ascendant Realm]] to a dispute with one of [[Xivu Arath, God of War|his aunt's]] sergeants, which deprived the Hope Eater of a quarter of his tribute. Having suffered a major loss of his temples and tributaries to feed his [[Worm]], Crota judged it best to sleep upon his [[Oversoul Throne|throne world]] and recover his debts while his soul remained tethered to an Ascendant [[Soul of Crota|crystal]], giving him a quick means of return to the real universe once his strength was restored.<ref>'''Bungie (2019/10/11)''', ''[[Destiny 2]], [[Weblore]]: [[Weblore#Dust|Dust]]''</ref><ref>'''Bungie (2019/10/11)''', ''[[Destiny 2]], [[Weblore:Shadowkeep]]: [[Weblore:Shadowkeep#Dust|Dust]]''</ref>

One of the survivors of the battle, Eriana-3, swore revenge against Crota and assembled a [[First Crota Fireteam|team of Guardians]] to enter the [[Hellmouth]] alone. Only [[Eris Morn]] survived that venture.<ref>'''Bungie (2014/12/9)''', ''[[Destiny]]: [[The Dark Below]], [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Activities/Raids#Crota's End|Crota's End]]''</ref>

===Consequences===
=====The Vanguard=====
After the Great Disaster, the Vanguard and Consensus as a military structure essentially vaporized as trust in their leadership was called into question. Both the Vanguard and the Consensus dissolved into symbolic command as neither of them could get a grip on the remaining Guardians. As Aarach [[Jalaal]] put it, "Everyone is a rogue now. It is fashionable to be a rogue." <ref>'''Bungie (2019/2/28)''', ''[[Weblore:Season of the Drifter]] - [[Weblore:Season of the Drifter#Praxic Order|Praxic Order]]''</ref> The idea of the Vanguard as a commanding presence over all Guardians became completely defunct as the Vanguard struggled to even manage the practices done in the [[Crucible]].

=====The Guardians and Culture=====
After the Great Disaster, Guardian culture took a sharp turn towards selling themselves to the highest bidder. Many people from the [[Drifter]], to [[Emperor Calus|Calus]], to [[Petra Venj|Petra]], and even [[Vance]] have noted that Guardians are unusually willing to do anything for a shiny new toy. The Drifter has had many Guardians join him on his escapades and even butted heads with Emperor Calus as the two fought over Guardian loyalty. <ref>'''Bungie (2019/6/4)''', ''[[Destiny 2]]: [[Season of Opulence]] - [[Shadow of Silence Suit#Penumbral Cloak|Penumbral Cloak]]''</ref> In a discussion with Petra, [[Variks, the Loyal|Variks]] says, "Guardians desire many things. Glory. Honor. Treasure." <ref> '''Bungie (2016/4/12)''', ''[[Destiny]]: [[The Taken King]] -  [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Activities/The Taken King#Challenge of Elders|Challenge of Elders]]''</ref> Brother Vance has also said that "They're so eager to tear each other apart for guns and cloth."<ref>'''Bungie (2020/3/10)''', ''[[Destiny 2]]: [[Season of the Worthy]] - [[Lore:Trials and Tribulations|Trials and Tribulations]]: [[Lore:Trials_and_Tribulations#Chapter_5_.E2.80.93_.5BAmbition.5D|Chapter 5 - [Ambition]]]''</ref> Many Guardians have fallen for these schemes and plots such as [[Katabasis]], who died for Calus<ref>'''Bungie (2021/2/9)''', ''[[Destiny 2]]: [[Season of the Chosen]] - [[Lore:Captain's Log|Captain's Log]]''</ref>, to [[Sola Scath]], who fell to [[Darkness]].<ref>'''Bungie (2020/6/9)''', ''[[Destiny 2]]: [[Season of Arrivals]] - [[Temptation's Hook]]''</ref>

It also did not help that due to the loss of so many figurehead Guardians like Wei Ning, there were very few elders left to teach the younger generation how to fight. This then resulted in the extremely close [[Battle of the Twilight Gap]], after which Shaxx left the battlefield in order to watch over the Crucible so that he could train the next generation of battle-hardened Guardians himself. <ref name="Shaxx">'''Bungie (2014-9-9)''', ''Destiny, [[Grimoire]]: [[Grimoire:Allies#Crucible_Handler|Crucible Handler]]''</ref>

Many civilians also feel distrustful of Guardians due to their lack of command. Many of them wonder if Guardians are even partial to their survival. During the return of the [[Pyramid]]s, citizens have even been noted to attack Guardians.<ref>'''Bungie (2020/6/1)''', ''[[Weblore:Season of Arrivals]] - [[Weblore:Season of Arrivals#Citizens of the City|Citizens of the City]]''</ref>

==List of appearances==
*''[[Destiny]]'' {{Fm}}
**''[[The Dark Below]]'' {{Mo}}
**''[[The Dawning (Rise of Iron)|The Dawning]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Destiny 2]]: [[Warmind (expansion)|Warmind]]''
**''[[Forsaken]]'' {{Mo}}
***''[[Season of the Forge]]'' {{Mo}}
***''[[Season of the Drifter]]'' {{Mo}}
**''[[Shadowkeep]]'' {{Mo}}
**''[[Beyond Light]]'' {{Mo}}
**''[[The Witch Queen]]'' {{Mo}}
**''[[Lightfall]]'' {{Mo}}
**''[[Into the Light]]'' {{Mo}}
**''[[The Final Shape]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Hidden Dossier]]'' {{Mo}}

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Battles]]
[[Category:Hive]]
[[Category:Guardians]]