Grimoire:Activities/The Taken King

"And my vanquisher will read that book, seeking the weapon, and they will come to understand me, where I have been and where I was going."The following is a verbatim transcription of an official document for archival reasons. As the original content is transcribed word-for-word, any possible discrepancies and/or errors are included.

The Taken King subsection of the Grimoire covers subjects related to activities in the expansion The Taken King.

The Coming War

"The Awoken died for us. They gave their lives to save the system, to stop Oryx's fleet at the outer planets. We must honor their sacrifice. We must face the Taken King without fear. Queen Mara has given us a gift. We must not waste it."

— Eris Morn

Cayde's Stash

"It's been a pain in the rump keeping Ikora, Zavala, and Eris in the dark. But I think it's worth it. That Guardian found the stealth drive just where I thought it would be, even took out some kind of powerful Taken construct. This plan's going even better than I expected! What could go wrong?"

— Cayde-6

The Dreadnaught

"...and so that's the situation. With Cayde's help the Guardian has established a beachhead on the Dreadnaught. I'm caught in the impossible position of wanting to reward and punish them both. If you have any guidance in this matter, it would be appreciated. I'll file another report this evening. For now I need to go have another conversation with Eris Morn before she rends Cayde limb from limb."

— Commander Zavala, transmission to Traveler's Observatory

Enemy of My Enemy

"The discovery of the ruptures and their connection to Ascendant Hive is a breakthrough. Eris Morn is working with Cayde-6 to form a plan to address this, and I believe they will see this through... assuming they don't kill each other. In the meantime, the Hidden are investigating the activities of the Cabal. The loss of their commander, Primus Ta'aun to Oryx is worrisome. More intelligence is required."

— Ikora Rey

Lost to Light

"The Guardian has the crystal. I was quite prepared to accompany them into Crota's realm, but Cayde insists on this Rasputin insanity. You must speak with him. He is reckless, rude, and has no respect for knowledge hard-earned. He is also nowhere near as funny as he thinks he is."

— Eris Morn

The Promethean Code

"A Guardian breaking into the Warmind's bunker does nothing for our efforts to make true contact with Rasputin. I've tasked several of my agents with unraveling his response. However, the Guardian is now prepared for the assault on Crota's realm. Just a warning, many thanatonauts are standing by, anxious to learn if this works."

— Ikora Rey

Last Rites

"You know, I give her a lot of guff. But there aren't five Warlocks in the Tower that coulda done what Eris did today, getting the Guardian out like that. Damn good work, and now they're all ready to take on the King. Just remember, Eris' creepy and condescending manner makes her all kinds of unpleasant to deal with. I don't want to make this collaboration thing a habit."

— Cayde-6

Regicide

"...and so, the King has been slain. Driven out of our world. Eris and Ikora have already begun planning a way to assault the Ascendant realm and end the threat of Oryx once and for all. The Guardian will lead that fireteam, no doubt, once they have a chance to stop and breath. In the meantime, we're leveraging all available Hidden and Awoken intelligence assets to understand the threat of the Taken army left behind. The other members of the Vanguard have begun drawing up assault plans, and I have full faith and confidence we'll see this threat put to rest as well."

— Commander Zavala, transmission to Traveler's Observatory

Dread Patrol

"...just have a hard time believing you take anything seriously. Placing the patrol beacons was supposed to be a careful, meticulous process. I expected it to take the better part of a week. I don't mind you delegating the task, but you should have collaborated to make sure they were triangulated perfectly. Do you have any idea how long it took to deploy the beacon network on the Cosmodrome?..."

— Transcript excerpt of 2-hour long meeting between Zavala and Cayde-6

Outbound Signal

"To answer your question, yes. We can confirm the signal was received. I've enclosed our best guess for the targeted area of space. It's problematic, because our tightest footprint still encompasses several light-years worth of systems. It is worth noting, for what it's worth, that whoever received their signal lies within that sphere. All available deep-space assets have been alerted, and will continue to monitor the situation as best we can."

— Arach Jalaal, report to Zavala and the Speaker

The Taken War: Venus

"...and we've managed to uncover a few more references to this Praedyth as a result. We're using what the Collective had in their Vault to help our efforts. Meanwhile, the Guardian's work across Venus appear to be working. Without the Echo, Taken activity is in decline. I have full faith the area can be swept clear of the creatures."

— Ikora Rey, after-action report to Zavala

The Taken War: Earth

"Yep, yep. All thanks to me. I know, we thought we had a good thing with that coven of Wizards, but it took a real field commander to see how easily intelligence can be misread. Now that the Guardian's cleared out the Echo at King's Watch, I think the old Cosmodrome's going to be just fine."

— Cayde-6, after-action report to Zavala

The Taken War: Mars

"Without further analysis it is hard to tell what impact, if any, this war on the Taken will have. The Echo destroyed by the Guardian on Phobos will certainly slow their advance. Now that we know of access to the Black Garden in the old tunnels beneath Freehold station, we'll ensure those areas are regularly patrolled and locked down. At the end of the day it is simply too soon to fully appreciate the stain Oryx has left on our system."

— Zavala, after-action report to the Speaker

The Road to King's Fall

"We have confirmed it among our number within the Hidden. I have asked Ikora's Warlocks to reach out, and they sense nothing. The Orb is quiet. On the Moon, his shrine is dark and cold. It is true: the Taken King is dead. The Hive's dark god, and his foul son, have been purged from the universe. She was right, scholar. Queen Mara was right. It is all down to the Guardians now. Let us hope they are up to the tasks ahead of them."

— Eris Morn, undisclosed report to Osiris

The Wolves of Mars

"Another Prime, destroyed. Once sources of life, Light. Hope. Now a sign of decay. Machines as gods.

Conspire with Kells. Conspire to kill, to conquer, to control.

This will not end. There will always be new Kell. There will always be new Prime, yes?

Skolas was savage. Skolas was cruel. Skolas was ... right. Only Kell of Kells can end the slaughter. Only Kell of Kells can unite the Houses.

Petra has given House Judgement a great gift. Variks now speaks for Crows. Crows fly on black wings, find what House Judgment needs found.

House Judgement and the Reef are allies. Petra is a friend. The Crows will do as Petra needs. But they will also search for Variks, yes? They will find that which is lost.

The Crows will find the Kell of Kells. Then Banners will rise as one. And Eliksni will stand together. Forever."

The Sunbreaker's Challenge

"What the forge does to your Light must be respected, and feared. That path is not for everyone. The Sunbreakers take the oath very seriously. I’m not trying to talk you out of anything. I’m just making sure you know the stakes. That forge breaks the brittle. And it bends the weak. But the strong, the strong walk away steeled and tempered. Unbreakable."

— Lord Shaxx

The Nightstalker's Trail

"Picking it up is the easy part, Hunter. Putting it down again, well, you’ll find that it’s addictive, that power. This weapon is something special. Your light gets twisted. Changed. You find the power to punch through and borrow something from the other side. The Void opens up a hole, and draws from the deep. Go ahead. Carry it a while, Hunter. You’ll feel how heavy it can get."

— Cayde-6

The Stormcaller's Path

"Yours will be a difficult path— jagged, like lightning itself. It is only the few who have the power to call down the storm. I’ve not often seen this talent from one so young. I always knew that you were different from the others, but I never understood my unease. I'm afraid there is little left I can teach you."

— Ikora Rey

Court of Oryx

Oryx ascends from the nether world,
The knights like hot stone
The beasts like scarred bone
Walk at his side.
Who walked in front of him? His daughters, with the truth between them
Who walked at his side? His Priest of Worms, whose tribute tasted like an egg
Who walked behind him? Golgoroth, who festered
Who walked within him? The satiated Worm — it was hungry, but it was fed
They preceded him.
These ones surrounded Oryx
They were beings who know no rest or doubt
Who eat nor shed any flesh,
Who drink no clear poison,
Who take away the weakness from the weak,
Whose violence is tithed to Oryx, so that he may devour
without being devoured

Are you following this? Would it help if I etched a few notes on the margins? I didn’t shuck my mortal form and smuggle this nightmare arcana back to the waking world for the benefit of that masked hypocrite’s drooling loyal orthodox.

Whoever finds this, I hope you’re sharp. I hope you read closely.

Oryx depends on His Court. Oryx depends on His Shrines. Do you see why?

Punish that dependence.

Challenge of Elders

“You’ve seen the same reports I have, and more,” Petra said. “I’m not stupid. I know the Crows whisper secrets to you that you don’t pass along to the rest of us.”

“Variks is loyal to Reef,” the scribe of House Judgment protested. “Helps Petra. Honors vows made to his Kell.”

“I’m not doubting your loyalty. I’m stating a fact. And the facts are that...” She sighed. “That we can’t keep fighting this war. Not alone. The Techeuns are in mourning. We've made some advances, but it's not enough.”

“Petra wants to avenge her Queen, yes?”

“Petra wants every Taken in the galaxy dead! We will spill every drop of whatever it is they call blood, burn the Dreadnaught, salt the ground...” Petra stopped. Her shoulders slumped in defeat. “But we can’t do it alone. And I won’t go begging.”

“We have lost our Queen,” she continued. “Our prince is missing. Our numbers are few. But we still have our pride. We still have that much.”

“Make Guardians want to help,” Variks said.

“How?”

“Guardians desire many things,” Variks said. “Glory. Honor. Treasure. Open the vaults again. Show them gifts we give to the worthy. They will come, and we will not have to ask.”