Editing Preservation

{{Level infobox
|prev= [[The Ritual]]
|next= [[Operation: Midas]] {{c|Season}} <br> [[First Contact]] {{c|Story}}
|game= ''[[The Witch Queen]]''
|name= Preservation
|image= [[File:Preservation Backdrop.png|300px]]
|player= 1-3
|date= 
|place= Court of Savathûn, Throne World
|objective= Stop the Scorn from taking control of the Sunken Pyramid
}}

{{Article quote| Get in that Pyramid and eradicate the Scorn within. They will not take control, no matter how hard they try.}}

'''Preservation''' is a [[Mission]] of ''[[The Witch Queen]]'' expansion, set in the aftermath of the [[Vow of the Disciple]] [[Raid]]. [[Mara Sov]] tasks [[The Guardian]] with stopping the [[Scorn]] from claiming the now vacant [[Sunken Pyramid]] and the secrets within.

The mission is first made available as part of the [[REPORT: PYRAMID-INSPECT]] [[Quest]] from [[The Enclave]]'s Evidence Board. Completion of this mission awards Pinnacle Throne World Gear.

==Objectives==
*Rid the Sunken Pyramid of Scorn
**''Traverse the swamp to reach the Sunken Pyramid.''
**''Traverse the Pyramid and locate the invading Scorn.''
**''Eliminate all Scorn within the Sunken Pyramid.''
*Discover Truths
**''Explore the Sunken Pyramid and uncover truths on [[Rhulk]]'s past.''

==Transcript==
''The Guardian returns to rid the Sunken Pyramid of another Scorn incursion.''

*Queen [[Mara Sov]]: Get in that Pyramid and eradicate the Scorn within. They will not take control, no matter how hard they try.

''OR''

*Queen Mara Sov: The Scorn overrun the Pyramid once more. You know what to do.

''OR''

*Queen Mara Sov: They're relentless, the Scorn—fruitlessly striving for that which they cannot attain. Keep it from them.

OR, if the Guardian wields the Parasite Grenade Launcher

*[[Savathûn's Worm]]: The Pyramid. Home of worm father. Worm mother. Good to be back. Visit worm mother, perhaps?

*[[The Ghost|Ghost]]: You want a family reunion? That's nice. But we probably won't have time, considering this Scorn infestation we need to deal with.

OR, If the Guardian wields the Parasite Grenade Launcher

*Savathûn's Worm: Pyramids… sacred ground. Keep Scorn out if you must. Won't make difference. When Witness is ready, Pyramid will obey. You will fall.

*Ghost: Thanks for the pep talk, but we're just gonna kill some Scorn and be on our way.

''The Guardian defeats a Projection of Savathûn and proceeds into the [[Disciple's Bog]].''

''The Guardian gathers [[Resonant Rune]]s and overflows the pyramid's vessel with resonant knowledge to traverse the bog.''

''The Guardian enters the [[Acquisition]] and witnesses the aftermath of the raid on the [[Sunken Pyramid]]: [[Xita]], Mother of the [[Worm Gods]], emits black smoke. The [[Upended]] no longer glows.

''The Guardian moves from room to room, ridding the Sunken Pyramid of Scorn and defeats three of the [[Fanatic's Chosen]].''

Queen Mara Sov: The Pyramid is safe, but the Scorn will never give up their fight. Not while the Witness guides them.

''The Guardian investigates the area.''

''The Guardian examines a memory of Rhulk.''

*Rhulk: The Upended. A title suitable for that which turns worlds upside down. When I was still uninitiated, I would stand guard at my post. I would look to the sky and see the two suns of my [[Lubrae]]: one eternally shaded in the dark, the other always a brilliant blue. And in them, I had seen the folly of our kind. A fear of something we believed bigger than us… and a reliance on that which kept us. That blue sun that we harnessed our power from… a simple reversal of that power cracked the blue in half. Shut it off. And Lubrae… died. I did not know it at the time, but it was necessary. And now that [[Savathûn]] has trapped me within these walls, it will be necessary again. My [[Witness]]… whether I survive Savathûn's betrayal or not, the Upended will ensure we salvage our perfect goal. The final abyss… awaits us all.

''The Guardian examines another memory of Rhulk.''

*Rhulk: When I stood on that precipice, watching the only world I knew collapse under its own weight… I was prepared for the splendor of abyssal eternity. But you brought me forth, my Witness. Freed me from the world that imprisoned me. Made me see the ultimate truth, one I could never see alone… That on my planet Lubrae, who I was, where I was, what I believed mattered — all amounted to absolute insignificance. I keep this mural not as some worthless sentimental reminder of what I lost, but of the opposite — of what I gained. Power. Truth of the inconsequence of most. Control over the universal strings of fate. For all this, I am eternally grateful, my Witness.

''The Guardian examines another memory of Rhulk.''

*Rhulk: It was your infinite wisdom, my Witness, that led me into the planet's great sea… and face to face with that which was believed to be unbeatable. You instilled in me a true understanding of wanton domination. Not for pleasure, but as a means to achieve our absolute finality. When I reached the creature known to some as the [[Leviathan (Fundament)|Leviathan]], it laid its thoughts bare. "Turn from the deep, fearmonger," it relayed. "I know what you seek. Press on, and you will drown in it." "I do not drown," I spoke with a defiant tongue. In a mere infinitesimal measure of time, I held a rib of this beast in one hand and pushed aside its maimed vessel with the other. "I rise."

''The Guardian examines another memory of Rhulk.''

*Rhulk: Puppets, all of them. Every last Krill. Every last Hive. I once believed in a higher calling as they do. But you know that. You rescued me from that. Eternal appreciation doesn't even scratch the surface of what I owe you for the gifts you gave me. I know you hoped the Krill would see it too. We tried. We really did. But we had to let them struggle… All because of a belief that purpose had finally found them. Given them strength to conquer an oppressive homeworld. How else were they to grow? Their loss, however, is for them to grieve, not us. We will continue forward. Greater purpose awaits, my Witness.

''The Guardian examines another memory of Rhulk.''

*Rhulk: "Conqueror," many called me. Again and again, I heard this word. Lobbed my direction not with admiration, but with malice. "Not a conqueror," I would respond with glee. "What, then?" they would ask. I do not tell them, my Witness. As you so graciously taught me, I show them. Just as I did in the unholy den of those starving "worm gods." I'll not forget the stench of their rotting flesh… or the way they cowered as I drew near. But they soon learned I was not to be feared. In the end, I left them only a promise of sustenance, and in return, they became chattel for our greater purpose: absolute finality. And as I walked away, their fountainhead in tow, I could hear them whisper with respect: "Subjugator."

''If the Guardian wields the Parasite Grenade Launcher''

*Ghost: Here, worm. Have your family reunion.

*Savathûn's Worm: Worm Mother… though you sleep eternal, your role in grand symphony persists. Legacy will be carried best I can.

*Ghost: Okay, okay, that's enough. Moving on.

==Enemies==

;[[Hive]] - [[Lucent Brood]]
*[[Thrall]]
*[[Acolyte]]
*[[Knight]]
*[[Lucent Moth]]

;Scorn
*[[Stalker]]
*[[Ravager]]
*[[Screeb]]
**[[Corrupted Screeb]]
*[[Lurker]]
**[[Corrupted Lurker]]
*[[Raider]]
**[[Corrupted Raider]]
*[[Wraith]]
**[[Corrupted Wraith]]
*[[Chieftain]]
**[[Corrupted Chieftain]] - [[Elite]]
**[[Tarnished Chieftain]]
*[[Abomination]]
**[[Deranged Abomination]]
**[[Lacerated Abomination]]
**[[Knowledge Bearer]] - [[Major]]

;Bosses
*[[Projection of Savathûn]]
*[[Fanatic's Chosen]]

==Trivia==
*The Scorn continuously assault the Pyramid, canonizing the repetition of this mission.
*If the player has the [[Parasite]] [[Exotic]] [[Grenade Launcher]] equipped, additional dialogue from [[Savathûn's Worm]] can be heard.
*Knowledge Bearers in this mission are Majors, unlike in the Vow of the Disciple Raid where they are [[Ultra]]s.
*The Tarnished Chieftain used to be a Major Corrupted Chieftain before the Scorn were given purple armor.

==References==
<references/>

{{Story missions/WQ}}