[dismiss]

Spoilers — Please keep the spoiler policy in mind while editing the wiki.

Citations — Please cite your sources when adding information to the wiki! Use our handy guide for assistance.

Mars

From Destinypedia, the Destiny wiki

Wikipedia.png
There is more information available on this subject at Mars on the English Wikipedia.
“ Home of BrayTech Futurescape and Rasputin. Overrun by the Hive. ”
Mars
Grimoire Mars.jpg
Astrographical

Star, position:

Sol, IV

Satellites(s):

Phobos
Deimos

Physical

Diameter:

6,792 kilometers

Gravity:

0.376 g

Length of day:

24 hours, 39 minutes and 35 seconds

Orbital period:

687 days

Atmosphere:

Earth-like

Societal

Population:

Humanity (formerly)
Cabal
Vex
Taken
Fallen
Hive
Pyramids

Government:

Freehold (formerly)

 

"The wind wiped away our footprints. When the storm had passed, we found something shining beneath the sand..."
— Grimoire description

Mars is the fourth planet in the Sol System, and the third largest terrestrial planet. Since the Collapse, much of Mars has returned to the desolation that came before the Traveler.[1] Like the rest of the planets in the system, the red planet is littered with ruins from the Golden Age.[2] It is home to Rasputin. It is also a living consciousness and one of the Nine. Mars was one of four destinations that was Taken by the Witness at the end of Season of Arrivals. However, it mysteriously returned in The Witch Queen.

Overview[edit]

A harsh and deadly environment, Mars is now a desert world[3][4] frequently plagued by dust storms.[5] The Cabal forces have a presence on the planet in the form of their Exclusion Zone,[2] as do the Vex, who are at odds with the Cabal.[6] An indelible sign of the Cabal presence on Mars is the moon of Phobos, which has had its orbit dramatically altered by Cabal planetary engineering; it now fills a significant part of the sky. Even more disturbing is the discovery of large "planet-cracking" munitions among the Cabal's already devastating arms.[7] There is some degree of conflict as humanity tries to reclaim its former glory.[6]

History[edit]

The Ancient Past[edit]

Long before the evolution of humanity, Mars and the other planets of the Sol System served as gravitational foci for interstellar streams of dark matter particles. When life evolved elsewhere in the System, the movements of lifeforms created perturbations in these looping streams, which caused the dark matter loops to "awaken" into consciousness. These nascent consciousnesses would one day become known to Humanity as the Nine.[8]

Golden Age[edit]

With the coming of the Traveler, rain washed over Mars,[9] and it was here that humans first encountered the spherical entity.[10] Once, populating Mars had been nothing more than a dream for humanity,[11] but after its terraforming, a thriving metropolis named Freehold came to dominate the skyline - a bastion of human life in the red dunes.[6] The Clovis Bray corporation had a major presence in Freehold, in addition to setting up their own private facilities, such as one in the Hellas Basin which acted as a tourist attraction and a site for research into Exo and Warmind technology, as well as the location for the core of the Warmind Rasputin.[12][13]

The Collapse[edit]

With the coming of the Darkness, nearly all of Freehold was "swept away" and the sand claimed what remained.[14] Today, Freehold lies buried beneath a mountain of sand, and its once-soaring skyscrapers are only visible.[6]

City Age[edit]

Mars would be subject to incursions from multiple alien races, including the Cabal, the Vex, and the Hive. The former two would find each other at odds in an attrition war in Meridian Bay, the area surrounding Freehold, with the Cabal vying to mine resources and study the Vex artifacts and structures in the area, which include the massive gate to the Black Garden.[15] A Hive brood known as the Grasp of Nokris would attempt to invade the Hellas Basin, only to be frozen in ice by Rasputin's defensive SIBERIAN ENTROPY protocol for the years to come.[citation needed]

Red War[edit]

When the Red Legion arrived in Sol, breaking the Cabal-Vex stalemate in Meridian Bay was one of its priorities. The Vex lost multiple gates, including the Black Garden gate, and the whole of Meridian Bay fell under total Red Legion control.[16]

With the awakening of the Traveler at the end of the Red War, the ice caps on Mars began to thaw, extending to the iced-over Hellas Basin. This also thawed and reawakened Xol and the Grasp of Nokris, prompting Rasputin's newly-awakened core intelligence to deorbit Warsats as a defensive measure, inadvertently attracting a defeated Red Legion looking to scavenge technology to strike back at the Guardians who had denied their victory.

Arrival of the Pyramids[edit]

Two years later, a Pyramid arrived on Mars, a month after one of its counterparts had previously arrived on Io. Around this time, a signal came from a device in the Bray Futurescape facility. Upon investigating, the Guardians found a journal belonging to Helsom, a Golden Age xenoarchaeologist who believed in possible contact with extrasolar species and humanity.[17]

Several months after the arrival of the Black Fleet, Mars, Io, Titan, and Mercury mysteriously disappeared, having been moved to a different plane of reality by the Witness using the Darkness. Mars' moons Phobos and Deimos were left untouched, however, and continued to orbit the void where Mars used to be.[18]

Shortly afterwards, Emperor Calus attempted to commune with the Witness, experimenting with Scorn and the Crown of Sorrow aboard a carrier to establish a link with the entity. He was ultimately successful, after which Calus piloted the Leviathan into the void formerly occupied by Mars.[19]

Return from Darkness[edit]

Over a year after its disappearance, Mars returned to the Sol System, covered with what appeared to be temporal rifts showing the planet as it was during the Golden Age. Baffled by Mars' return, Ikora Rey and her Hidden set up an outpost in Agrisector 24-A, Freehold to investigate the Relic, a mysterious structure left behind by the Black Fleet.[20]

Not long after their investigation into the Relic, the Cabal of Caiatl's Imperial Cabal of the Cabal Ascendancy began constructing outposts and cannons around the Martian Cradle, wishing to retake Mars as Cabal territory. Although Ikora Rey and Eris Morn were concerned, they realised that the Cabal were not aiming at them, but instead aiming at Savathûn's ship, The Lure. The Guardian would then arrive at the scene and would be instructed by Ikora and Eris to investigate further since they are pinned down. The Guardian was then engaged by Cabal forces and boarded Savathûn's ship by shooting themselves out of a nearby Cabal cannon. [20]

The Guardian explored the depths of the ship, finding Hive forces of the Lucent Brood, a relic made from Pyramid tech and Hive with new powers. After investigating further, the Guardian was tossed off the ship, landing on the Martian surface and eventually travelled to Ikora for debriefing.[20]

While the Imperial Cabal/Vanguard alliance was battling the Lucent Hive, a rebel force of Cabal and Psions set up a base of operations in The Barrens, with the backing of Emperor Calus, and began broadcasting anti-Imperial propaganda. The area was stormed by the Guardians multiple times to shut down the transmission.[21]

Rebuilding the Warmind[edit]

Months later, Vanguard forces would return to Mars to obtain Rasputin Submind data from the Braytech Futurescape caught in a time tear. The Guardians would clash with Hive and Taken forces of Xivu Arath's Horde, who occupied the complex and deactivated or subverted its defenses. The Fireteam confronts their leader, Darkblade Kelgorath, Risen from Bones, and slays him in a fierce battle, though his Ascendant status saves him from final death. Many more retrieval operations like this would be launched and continue to be conducted.[22]

Around the same time, the Ares Spire, a Golden Age Seraph Complex, powered on for the first time since the collapse. Osiris instructs a team of guardians to investigate the facility, finding Sol Divisive Vex intent on harvesting its data. The guardians fight through the Vex, destroying their leading Vex Minds Akelous, the Siren's Current and Persys, Primordial Ruin, and retrieve critical data about extrasolar colonies.[23] Ana would later lead a fireteam consisting of Cogburn, Earp and Moss-2 into the complex to fully clear it, retrieving any further data as well as Tex Mechanica armor and weapon schematics.[24][25][26]

Locations[edit]

Non-canon appearances[edit]

Rising Timeline[edit]

Main article: Mars/Rising

Gallery[edit]

  • The surface of Mars as it appears on Bungie.net

    The surface of Mars as it appears on Bungie.net

  • Phobos in near orbit to Mars

    Phobos in near orbit to Mars

  • Concept art of Freehold.

    Concept art of Freehold.

  • A Cabal Fortification on Mars.

    A Cabal Fortification on Mars.

  • The Exclusion Zone guarded by Cabal.

    The Exclusion Zone guarded by Cabal.

  • A Cabal Colossus on Mars.

    A Cabal Colossus on Mars.

  • Three Guardians on Mars.

    Three Guardians on Mars.

  • A Firefight on Mars.

    A Firefight on Mars.

  • The Clovis Bray Tower.

    The Clovis Bray Tower.

  • A postcard of Freehold during the Golden Age.

    A postcard of Freehold during the Golden Age.

  • A Map of The Valley of Kings.

    A Map of The Valley of Kings.

  • Screenshot mars03.jpg

Trivia[edit]

  • According to the description of the Long Tomorrow 9G chestpiece, Mars was once ruled by the Awoken.[28]

List of appearances[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Bungie (2014/9/9), Destiny - Grimoire:Places/Places/Mars, Mars
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b IGN Bungie's Destiny: A Land of Hope and Dreams
  3. ^ Destiny Planet Viewer
  4. ^ Bungie (2014/9/9), Destiny - Grimoire:Activities/Crucible Arenas, Blind Watch
  5. ^ Bungie (2014/9/9), Destiny - Item Description: Dustwalker
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Game Informer January 2014, page 52
  7. ^ Destiny Planet View
  8. ^ Bungie (2019/3/5), Destiny 2: Season of the Drifter - Lore:Dust, The Nine
  9. ^ Bungie Destiny Story
  10. ^ YouTube - Destiny: Official E3 Gameplay Experience Trailer
  11. ^ EB Worlds - The New Frontier awaits
  12. ^ Bungie (2018/5/8), Destiny 2: Warmind
  13. ^ Bungie (2018/5/8), Destiny 2: Warmind - Core Terminus
  14. ^ Bungie : Mars
  15. ^ Bungie (2014/9/9), Destiny - Grimoire:Enemies/Vex, Virgo Prohibition
  16. ^ Bungie (2017/8/9), Destiny 2 - Ghost Scans: NE-CST-4
  17. ^ Matt Helsom Mission
  18. ^ Bungie (2020/11/16), Weblore:Season of the Hunt - Immolannt Pt. 1
  19. ^ Bungie (2021/2/9), Destiny 2: Season of the Chosen - Presage
  20. ^ Jump up to: a b c Bungie (2022/2/22), Destiny 2: The Witch Queen - The Arrival
  21. ^ Bungie (2022/2/22), Destiny 2: Season of the Risen - Vox Obscura
  22. ^ Bungie (2022/12/6), Destiny 2: Season of the Seraph - Heist Battleground: Mars
  23. ^ Bungie (2022/12/6), Destiny 2: Season of the Seraph - Spire of the Watcher
  24. ^ Bungie (2022/12/6), Destiny 2: Season of the Seraph - Item Description: TM-Cogburn Custom Suit
  25. ^ Bungie (2022/12/6), Destiny 2: Season of the Seraph - Item Description: TM-Earp Custom Suit
  26. ^ Bungie (2022/12/6), Destiny 2: Season of the Seraph - Item Description: TM-Moss Custom Suit
  27. ^ Bungie (2015/9/15), Destiny: The Taken King - Item Description: Take the Wanted
  28. ^ Bungie (2015/9/15), Destiny: The Taken King - Item Description: Long Tomorrow 9G Chest

v • d • e
 
Solar Systems
Inner system Mercury (The Almighty) • Venus • Earth (Essence • Moon • Seraph Station • The Leviathan) • Mars (Deimos • Phobos)
Asteroid belt 2 Pallas • 4 Vesta • 7 Iris • 10 Hygiea • 19 Fortuna • 31 Euphrosyne • 65 Cybele • 128 Nemesis • 221 Eos • 324 Bamberga • 687 Tinette • 951 Gaspra • 5560 Amytis • Ceres (Cocytus) • Hildian Asteroids • Reef (Amethyst • Dreaming City • Interamnia • Prison of Elders • Tangled Shore) • Themis Cluster (90 Antiope • 1633 Chimay • 8319 Antiphanes • 8964 Corax • 14072 Volterra • 16246 Cantor • 43193 Secinaro • 64974 Savaria)
Outer system Jupiter (Ananke group • Europa (Morning Star • Vesper Station) • Io • Ganymede) • Saturn (Callisto • Dione • Dreadnaught • Enceladus • Hyperion • Rhea • Telesto • Titan)
Uranus (Caelus Station) • Neptune (Nereid • Thalassa • Triton) • Nessus • Pluto • Eris
Se'Tar
Miscellaneous systems
Unknown systems
Transdimensional realms
Retrieved from "https://www.destinypedia.com/index.php?title=Mars&oldid=335781"