Harbinger (Reef superweapon)

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"So the Queen calls, as only she can. [...] Behind the Queen's ship, the Harbingers awaken."[1]
Harbingers.png

The Harbinger Minds, or Harbingers, are mysterious entities used as superweapons by the Awoken of the Reef. They are described as "trophies from an ageless war",[2] and are controlled by the Techeuns and Mara Sov, though it seems that this control may be tenuous.[3][2] Each Techeun has her own Harbinger,[4] and bonding with it is a part of their training.[5] As weapons, they had little finesse and had the potential to cause enormous collateral damage; as a result, they could not be deployed near allied forces or civilian populations.[6] Their use as weapons may be gravitic in nature; during the Battle of Saturn, asteroids and Tombships were drawn in after their trails.[7]

Overview[edit]

The Harbingers seem to be sentient beings; the Awoken would summon them in the Spine of Keres to speak, persuade and listen to them, and Shuro Chi remarks they whispered "strange songs in languages we all felt we should know".[8] Their destruction in the Taken War is referred to by her as "death" and she mentions there is only one Harbinger left, only Mara knowing its location.[4]. They are described as "ageless, unfettered minds, twining through the mist like ribbons on the wind".[9] Additionally, the Harbingers are capable of traversing the Ley Lines.[10]

History[edit]

Reef Wars[edit]

The first known use of the Harbingers was when the Queen "awoke" them for the opening salvo of the Reef Wars, destroying Ceres and half of the Wolf fleet stationed there, including their Kell, Virixas.[11] During the Siege of Pallas the Queen was reluctant to use them, as doing so would have destroyed both the defending Awoken fleet and killed the entirety of its civilian population.[6] Instead, a conjured illusion of their presence broke the siege, scattering the dismayed Fallen.[12]

Taken War[edit]

The Harbingers were last deployed against Oryx's fleet at the Battle of Saturn. This was in accordance with a plan that "overcame death and spanned universes" devised by the Queen, in which all but the eldest Harbinger would be sent against the Dreadnaught to burrow into its hull and "have children."[2] On summoning, they devastated many Hive warships and Tombships, but apparently failed to harm the Dreadnaught. Oryx, the Taken King then activated the Dreadnaught's main weapon and destroyed the Awoken fleet. Uldren believed the Queen and the Coven had overstepped themselves in challenging Oryx's power, as it was "not bound to anything the Origin Libraries even sought to describe".[13] In truth, the Harbingers had done exactly as the Queen planned and allowed her to enter Oryx's throne world when his weapon killed her.[14]

Vestiges of the Harbingers lingered around Saturn's moons and a sample was collected for Petra's use.[15]

Postwar[edit]

After the Taken War, the eldest Harbinger would remain in secret with only Mara knowing where it was located, something Shuro Chi was thankful for given that she and her sisters had been Taken at the time.[16]

It seems that in the years after, more Harbingers were able to be born as Mara was able to use many of them on the fringes of the system against the Black Fleet.[17]

During the Hunt for Riven's Clutch, Mara made use of her personal Harbinger to help with bringing the rest of the Ahamkara's clutch that had been scattered in the Ascendant Plane and were orbiting normal reality. However, Mara needed a Starlight Lodestone to guide the Harbinger to them. [18] After successfully retrieving it from the Chamber of Starlight and calibrating it in The Coil, the Guardian placed it atop a tower in the Spine of Keres after clearing out the Taken.[19] Petra remarked how nice to was to see a Harbinger being used for diplomacy instead of war.[20]

Gallery[edit]

  • A shot of the Harbinger energy in the viewport

    A shot of the Harbinger energy in the viewport

  • The Harbingers forming before the Queen's Ketch

    The Harbingers forming before the Queen's Ketch

  • Harbingers attack

    Harbingers attack

List of appearances[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Bungie (2015/5/19), Destiny: House of Wolves - Grimoire:Enemies/Fallen, Ghost Fragment: Fallen 4
  2. ^ a b c Bungie (2015/9/15), Destiny: The Taken King - Grimoire:Allies/The Queen, The Coven
  3. ^ Bungie (2015/5/19), Destiny: House of Wolves - Petra Venj: "Why doesn't she just send in a slew of Harbingers? Have the Witches lost control of them?"
  4. ^ a b Bungie (2018/9/4), Destiny 2: Forsaken - Shuro Chi: "Generations of techeuns have stood where you stand now, dreaming of a future where they might twin themselves to their own Harbinger."
  5. ^ Bungie (2018/9/4), Destiny 2: Forsaken - Shuro Chi: "I used to come to this bench and sit with Nascia. She and I entered the coven at the same time. She bonded to her Harbinger before I did - I was so jealous, and I could not say so, because we were taught to feel no jealousy. Not all lessons stick."
  6. ^ a b Bungie (2015/5/19), Destiny: House of Wolves - Grimoire:Enemies/Fallen Hunted, WANTED: Weksis, the Meek
  7. ^ Bungie (2015/9/15), Destiny: The Taken King - The Coming War
  8. ^ Bungie (2018/9/4), Destiny 2: Forsaken - Shuro Chi: "This was a summoning ground, once. We called the Harbingers here to speak to them, to persuade them, to listen to their whispering - strange songs in languages we all felt we should know."
  9. ^ Bungie (2018/9/4), Destiny 2: Forsaken - Shuro Chi: "This was once a place to call the Harbingers. It is a pity that you cannot see them as they were - ageless, unfettered minds, twining through the mist like ribbons on the wind. They were beautiful."
  10. ^ Bungie (2023/11/28), Destiny 2: Season of the Wish - Wishing All the Best
  11. ^ Bungie (2015/5/19), Destiny: House of Wolves - Grimoire:Enemies/Fallen Hunted, WANTED: Skolas, Kell of Kells
  12. ^ Bungie (2015/5/19), Destiny: House of Wolves - Grimoire:Enemies/Fallen Hunted, WANTED: Pirsis, Pallas-Bane
  13. ^ Bungie (2015/9/15), Destiny: The Taken King - Grimoire:Allies/The Queen, The Aftermath
  14. ^ Bungie (2018/9/4), Destiny 2: Forsaken - Lore:The Awoken of the Reef, Tyrannocide V
  15. ^ Bungie (2015/9/15), Destiny: The Taken King - Grimoire:Inventory/Special Weapons: Telesto
  16. ^ Bungie (2018/9/4), Destiny 2: Forsaken - Shuro Chi: "We used to use that spire to summon the Harbingers. They're all dead now - all but one, and only Queen Mara knows where it is. A good thing, too, considering that me and my sisters were Taken."
  17. ^ Bungie (2020/11/10), Destiny 2: Season of the Hunt - Vanguard Transmissions
  18. ^ Bungie (2023/11/28), Destiny 2: Season of the Wish - Wishing All the Best: Step 11
  19. ^ Bungie (2023/11/28), Destiny 2: Season of the Wish - The Oracle Engine (Wishing You the Best)
  20. ^ Bungie (2023/11/28), Destiny 2: Season of the Wish - Wishing All the Best: Step 19
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