The Lunar Pyramid

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The Lunar Pyramid
Darkness-Pyramid.jpg
Biographical information

Other name(s):

The Pyramid
Dark Majesty

Species:

Pyramid

Political and military information

Affiliation:

Nezarec, Final God of Pain
Black Fleet
Nightmares

Notable info:

First known Pyramid uncovered by the Guardians
Personal ship of Nezarec

 

"Violence. Beauty. Truth. These things await inside."
the Witness, speaking through Ghost.

The Lunar Pyramid is a Pyramid located below the surface of the Moon, and the source of the Nightmares that currently plague it. It originally belonged to Nezarec, a Disciple of the Witness that led the Black Fleet during the Collapse. The Pyramid crashed into the Moon following Nezarec's death at the hands of Savathûn, the Witch Queen, and remained dormant beneath the Lunar surface for centuries until it was discovered and inadvertently awakened by Eris Morn.

Overview and layout[edit]

As with all Pyramids, the outside of the Lunar Pyramid's hull is covered in segmented panels made of a substance resembling chiseled obsidian. It appears to be completely intact, with no visible damage to its exterior.

The Pyramid can be accessed by an opening on one of its upward-facing sides; this opening can produce a tractor beam to bring objects or visitors inside. The interior of the Pyramid appears to have been designed with human-scale inhabitants in mind, and contains many hallways, stairways, and various open spaces. Many parts of its architecture feature subtle gold and red ornamentation, or seemingly abstract chiseled patterns. It is dimly lit, with occasional harsh white or red lighting providing the only illumination. Small container-like objects can be found scattered around the halls.

As with other Pyramids explored thus far, the Lunar Pyramid contains at least one massive statue of a veiled humanoid figure. This statue, and the others like it, depicts a member of the precursor species that subsequently became The Witness.

The Chantry of the Darkest Hour has a pair of colored stone statues, a cathedral-like chamber, and an altar where the Nightmare Harvester was used to lure out Calus during his attempt to take over the Lunar Pyramid.

History[edit]

The Ancient Past[edit]

According to the creature known as Ahsa, the Pyramids of the Black Fleet were originally crafted by an ancient humanoid species that would later become the Witness. At some point during the Witness' crusade against the Traveler, the Disciple Rhulk anointed Nezarec as a new Disciple, and gifted him with a Glaive. Nezarec presumably was also granted control of his own Pyramid around this time.

The Collapse[edit]

Nezarec led the Black Fleet's assault on Earth during the Collapse, and carried the Veil aboard his Pyramid so that he could establish a paracausal link between the Veil and the Traveler, in order to open a portal into the Traveler's Pale Heart and allow the Witness to bring about the Final Shape using the Traveler's Light. However, before he could establish the link, Savathûn, the Witch Queen betrayed the Disciple, killing him and stealing the Veil while cursing Nezarec's consciousness to remain bound to his remains. The Pyramid subsequently crashed into the Moon, and became buried beneath its surface.

The Dark Ages[edit]

The Hive under Crota, Son of Oryx were the first to discover the inactive Pyramid beneath the surface of the Moon centuries after the Collapse. It is implied by Toland that the Hive had studied the dormant vessel and failed to awaken it countless times before the events of Shadowkeep.

At some point following their arrival in the Sol System, a band of Fallen, among them the mother of Misraaks, discovered the Pyramid and were allowed inside. They discovered the corpse of Nezarec within, which they determined to be a source of great power. They divided the body into pieces and distributed them as talismans, which granted power to their bearers but also subtly encouraged their tendencies towards greed, violence and mistrust of one another. One Eliksni pirate named Koraxis carved out one of Nezarec's eyes, but left the rest of the Disciple's head behind.

Shadowkeep[edit]

"Welcome. We've been waiting."
— Ghost, while possessed by a Voice in the Darkness.

Under the leadership of the Daughters of Crota, the Hive built a Scarlet Keep near the Pyramid's location that could amplify their magics, harness the phantasmal essence of the Pyramid and immunize themselves of its influence. In addition, the Daughters attempted to use the Nightmare essence to recreate Oryx, the Taken King and their father Crota to no avail.

The Pyramid was discovered by Eris Morn following the Red War and the events of Forsaken. Upon touching its surface, Eris triggered a seismic disturbance, revealing the Pyramid in its crevasse. Having awakened by Eris, the sudden release of the Pyramid's potent energies levelled the terrain of the Ocean of Storms and subsequently brought Nightmares in the form of phantoms, which haunted the surrounding caverns and lunar surface.

The Hive of the Hidden Swarm saw a prime opportunity in the Pyramid's sudden appearance and of its phantasmal creations. Under the leadership of the Daughters of Crota, the Hive began summoning Nightmares near the Keep starting with the Nightmare of Gothrax, Swarm Protector and the Nightmare of Arguth, the Tormented. Eventually, they began to summon Nightmares en masse and sacrifice them to reap their phantasmal essence to empower Zulmak, Instrument of Torment; a hybrid Hive-Nightmare abomination to serve as the Daughters' puppet champion.

After crafting a set of Dreambane Armor with the aid of Eris Morn, the Guardian was able to approach the Pyramid, which produced a tractor beam to draw the Guardian inside. Within the Pyramid, the Guardian faced Nightmares of Ghaul, Fikrul and Crota. The Guardian's Ghost was seemingly possessed by a Voice in the Darkness during this period and commented on the weakness and failures of the Light. After slaying the Nightmare of Crota, the Guardian was guided to a statue of a veiled figure with an Unknown Artifact placed before it. The Guardian hallucinated themself in the Black Garden, where a doppelganger with a sinister smile spoke on behalf of the Pyramid.

Sometime later in the season, Eris herself would personally step into the Pyramid and approach the Veiled statue as well. Upon touching its base, the Darkness-aligned powers of Stasis began manifesting temporarily around her rock much to her surprise. Taking this development of wielding the Darkness under her control, she resolves to accept these newfound powers from the Pyramid as her own.


Season of the Haunted[edit]

After Calus returned to the system with the Derelict Leviathan, he began communing with the Lunar Pyramid and weaponize the Nightmares against his daughter, Crow, and Zavala in an attempt to appease the Witness and become another one of its Disciples. The Vanguard and Empress Caiatl would later discover his intent to merge his consciousness, which had already become one with the Leviathan, with the Lunar Pyramid and seize full control of its power. The Guardian, together with Eris, Crow, Zavala and Caiatl, initiated the Nightmare Containment protocol and later a series of severance rituals to suppress Calus's influence on the Pyramid.

While the Vanguard battled the Nightmares aboard the Leviathan, Eris would use her Ahamkara bone to explore the inside of the Lunar Pyramid. She would eventually discover a chamber containing an abandoned glaive covered in centuries-worth of dust, hinting at the true identity of the Lunar Pyramid's original pilot and possibly offering an insight into its neglected state.

The Guardian discovered the Chantry of the Darkest Hour through a portal inside the Derelict Leviathan's throne room. The Guardian worked with Empress Caiatl to challenge a projection of Calus, the Herald of the Witness, in a duel as a last desperate attempt to seize control of the Lunar Pyramid. The ensuing conflict ended in his defeat, banishing his influence on the Lunar Pyramid , but they were unable to stop him from becoming a Disciple of the Witness. Crow, Eris, and Zavala regroups with them as they allow the Memories to fade inside the Pyramid.

Locations[edit]

Trivia[edit]

  • At the end of the Scarlet Keep strike, it is possible to see the Pyramid from the gate that the boss comes through. You may have to jump to see it.
  • The reveal of the Pyramid on Luna actually took a lot of the community by surprise and is considered to be the highlight of the campaign for the expansion.
  • The developers intentionally disabled sprint at the point the player first sees the Pyramid, this was done to convey the gravity, danger, and power of the Darkness.
  • When the player encounters the Pyramid of Luna there are two pieces of dialogue that the Ghost can say, what he ends up saying is dependent on whether they saw a projection of the Pyramids in the court of Mara Sov.
    • Ghost Quote 1: "What... is that? I've never seen anything like it."
    • Ghost Quote 2: "That's... one of those Pyramids. It can't be. That should not be here."
  • The Pyramid's outer hull has a similar texture to that of the Traveler.
  • If one looks at the Pyramid from the Enduring Abyss, they can see that the Pyramid is lit up from the outside like its brethren. However, these lights are green, which contrasts from the usual yellow-orange.
    • This may be due to it being inactive for so long and that it's lights have waned in power, or that it has differing lights because its job was different than the rest of the Black Fleet that have been seen.

Gallery[edit]

List of Appearances[edit]

References[edit]