Editing Taranis

{{Character infobox
|variant= Ahamkara
|image= [[File:TaranisInfo.jpg|300px]]
|homeworld=
|birth=
|death=
|othernames= Taranis Rivensmate
|species= [[Ahamkara]]
|gender= Male
|affiliation=
|notable= Sacrificed himself to scatter [[Riven]]'s clutch in order to protect them.
}}

'''Taranis''' was an [[Ahamkara]] and the mate of [[Riven]].

==Biography==
===Birth and Adolescence===
Taranis hatched from an egg in the outer Solar System near the heliopause, in the absence of any sires or dams that created him. His first meal was the shell of the egg he hatched from. 

He went on to learn the ways of hunting from the Ahamkara elders, watching them as they granted the wishes of their partners and attempting to sneak past them to steal some of their "food"; as he did so, he discovered that he could not consume his stolen meals, as he found them too "bitter". In the course of observing his elders, he also discovered that he was "plainspoken" by Ahamkara standards<ref>'''Bungie (2023/11/28)''', ''[[Destiny 2]]: [[Season of the Wish]] - [[Lore:Gifts and Bargains|Gifts and Bargains]]: [[Lore:Gifts and Bargains#First Gift|First Gift]]''</ref>.

As he grew, Taranis began his first hunt on [[Mars]] by seeking out a [[Cabal]] soldier who desired to relax for one day without giving up on her patrol duties. He granted her wish by creating a sandstorm that shrouded the firebase, allowing her to retire to her bunk and relax while reading a novel, while Taranis himself hid in the pipes above her bunk and basked in her satisfaction. Though it didn't fully sate him, Taranis considered it a successful hunt.<ref name="First Gift"/>

At some point, Taranis would follow a faint trail and find a way into the [[Black Garden]] where he would make his nest. While he found the place good for teaching himself who he was and for providing sustenance from the possibility of the place when his hunts didn't provide enough, he found his nest lacking. After tasting an itch in his heart knowing his nest is not enough, Taranis begins his hunt for it, eventually leading him to [[Venus]] where he would discover the presence of [[Eliksni]] scavengers and [[Lightbearer]]s as they engaged with the [[Vex]] and [[Psion]]s. A lone [[Albios|Lightbearer]] with a pale lantern sat beneath a willow tree with faint desires. Taranis waited for the Lightbearer to wish but found that he wished for nothing, and so Taranis left.<ref name="First Gift"/>

===Meeting Riven in the Dreaming City===

Taranis later found his way to the [[Dreaming City]] through the [[Spine of Keres]]. There he met his future mate, Riven, who pinned him down with a claw and inquired about his presence in her lair.<ref name="First Gift">'''Bungie (2023/11/28)''', ''[[Destiny 2]]: [[Season of the Wish]] - [[Lore:Gifts and Bargains|Gifts and Bargains]]: [[Lore:Gifts and Bargains#First Gift|First Gift]]''</ref> After spending some time bonding with Riven in the [[Divalian Mists]] and meeting the Awoken [[Gwilym]], whom Taranis befriended by benignly granting a wish for tea and pastries, Taranis invited her to visit his lair in the Black Garden. She accepted the invitation, and together they began forging a bridge between their lairs. They would later produce a clutch of eggs, with Taranis serving the role of a dam and Riven serving the role of a sire.<ref>'''Bungie (2023/11/28)''', ''[[Destiny 2]]: [[Season of the Wish]] - [[Lore:Gifts and Bargains|Gifts and Bargains]]: [[Lore:Gifts and Bargains#Second Gift|Second Gift]]''</ref>

When the [[Great Ahamkara Hunt]] began, Taranis disobeyed Riven's order to stay out of the Dreaming City and visited [[Azirim]], who warned Taranis of the potential end of their species. Taranis next visited [[Gwilym]], but he betrayed Taranis' trust by calling in a [[Corsair]] to catch him, citing an incident where Azirim had tricked and killed a group of Corsairs in the [[Gardens of Esila]]. Taranis escaped by changing into a dragonfly. By the end of the Great Hunt, he and Riven were separated physically and became the last of their kind, along with the clutch they produced.<ref>'''Bungie (2023/11/28)''', ''[[Destiny 2]]: [[Season of the Wish]] - [[Lore:Gifts and Bargains|Gifts and Bargains]]: [[Lore:Gifts and Bargains#Third Gift|Third Gift]]''</ref>

===Last Bargain===
When Taranis returned to the Dreaming City, he found that Riven had been [[Taken]] by [[Oryx, the Taken King|Oryx]] and that their eggs in the Dreaming City had been corrupted with Taken energies. Upon returning to the Black Garden, Taranis decided to sacrifice himself to protect his and Riven's remaining uncorrupted clutch, granting his own wish to scatter the clutch at the cost of his life. He also bequeathed a Bow as the final instruction to ensure the survival of his species: the [[Wish-Keeper]].<ref>'''Bungie (2023/11/28)''', ''[[Destiny 2]]: [[Season of the Wish]] - [[Lore:Gifts and Bargains|Gifts and Bargains]]: [[Lore:Gifts and Bargains#Last Bargain|Last Bargain]]''</ref><ref>'''Bungie (2023/11/28)''', ''[[Destiny 2]]: [[Season of the Wish]] - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5Mb_l80Cdg Taranis Cinematic]''</ref>

Years later, the Guardian discovered Taranis' corpse as they recovered one of the eggs that had been stolen by [[Akardon, Pitiless Mind]] to stop Riven from granting the 15th Wish, which would grant access into the Pale Heart of [[The Traveler|the Traveler]] to stop the [[The Witness|Witness]]. Riven was shocked upon learning Taranis's fate, and instructed the Guardian to keep Wish-Keeper to honor Taranis's legacy to protect their whims from the Witness's attempt to enact the [[Final Shape]].<ref>'''Bungie (2023/11/28)''', ''[[Destiny 2]]: [[Season of the Wish]] - [[Starcrossed]]''</ref> After uncovering the celestial anomalies throughout the Dreaming City and the Black Garden, the Guardian uncovered more of the relationship between Riven and Taranis.{{Citation needed}}

==Trivia==
*Taranis is named after the god of lightning in Celtic mythology.

==Gallery==
==Appearance==
*''[[Destiny 2]]'': ''[[Season of the Wish]]'' {{1st}}

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Ahamkara]]
[[Category:Characters]]