Crota, Son of Oryx

Main

Crota, Son of Oryx
D1 D2
Biographical information
Other name(s):	Eater of Hope The Hope-Eater The Monster of Luna The God-Knight Light-Destroyer Son of Navigation Sword of Pits Worldbreaker Breaker of Worlds Prince of Annihilation
Species:	Hive
Faction:	Blood of Oryx
Rank:	Prince Ultra
Class:	Knight
Gender:	Male
Combat information
Mission:	Crota's End
Weapon(s):	Sword of Crota (D1) Sword of Crota (D2)
Abilities:	Bane of the Swordless Annihilator Totem Presence of Crota Darkness Blast Summon Hive High Durability Rapid Movement Temporary Immunity Immunity Shield Oversoul's Gaze

Dares Champion

Crota, Son of Oryx, Dares Champion
Biographical information
Species:	Hive
Rank:	Prince Ultra
Class:	Knight
Gender:	Male
Combat information
Mission:	Dares of Eternity
Weapon(s):	Sword of Crota
Abilities:	Darkness Blast Summon Hive High Durability Rapid Movement Teleportation Swordless Immunity Summon Aspects

"We fight a war against false hope, Crota. We chase a god called the Traveler, a huckster god who baits young life into building houses for it. These houses are unsafe, for they cannot stand against my Hive. And these houses are a trap — for they lead young life away from the blade and the tooth, which are the tools of survival and the means of ascension. […] Thus I name you Crota, Eater of Hope."

— Oryx, the Taken King

Crota, Son of Oryx, also known as the "God-Knight", or "Light-Destroyer" and the "Eater of Hope", was an ancient and powerful Hive Prince who infamously wielded the Sword of Crota and killed countless Guardians during the City's ill-fated campaign to reclaim the Moon. Crota is the main antagonist in The Dark Below, in which the Hive seek to awaken him to lead their armies against humanity.

Biography

The Young Prince

Crota, the Hive Prince alongside Oryx, the Hive King

"I too will experiment with a wound."

— Crota, seconds before opening a portal to a Vex realm that invaded Oryx's throne world

After Oryx fought his way out of the Deep after being trapped within by his sisters Savathûn and Xivu Arath, he decided that he needed children to carry on his lineage and ensure his flow of tribute was always greater than that of his siblings. Crota was thus born, and his father explained to him why he had created him and granted him a sword and a name, stating those would be the only things that he gave his son and that Crota would have to earn his place upon his father's court, the High War. The newborn Crota continued to listen as his father explained the "trap" of the Traveler in giving species hope that there was a path in the universe that did not involve conflict, and thus gave Crota the name Eater of Hope in anticipation of the lives and dreams he would snuff out. Crota was then taken to be introduced to the rest of his family. Crota was soon joined by two sisters, Ir Halak and Ir Anûk; and a brother, Nokris. However, Nokris was excommunicated and stricken from the Hive's histories for his heretical necromantic practices. Crota himself was made the heir to his father and the Osmium Throne. Crota also had four Swarm Princes, Banuk, Dakoor, Garok, and Merok, forge for him a great sword with which to ravage worlds and drain the Light from his foes.

At some point, the young Crota would petition his father to forge him from the flesh of the Worms a Tablet of Ruin to bear in battle and tithed as tribute to him. Instead, Oryx coldly rebuked his son by setting the newly created tablet with Golgoroth and explained only tithings of violence from him and his temples were demanded of him.

One day, Crota was approached by Oryx and ordered to watch his sisters as they experimented with the creation of an Oversoul, a paracausal thanatosphere meant to hide their deaths and become harder to kill in the hope that he would learn cunning. However, as Oryx departed to observe the destruction of an alien fortress world by the Black Fleet, Crota conspired to learn his sisters' secrets of the Oversoul with which he shared with his father's Warpriest. His aunt Savathûn would influence the arrogant young prince to experiment himself with opening a wound into an unknown space. The space Crota's sword cut into would open a rift into the Vex Network, prompting the Vex to invade Oryx's throne world en-masse (much to Savathûn's trickery). Crota engaged the Vex in battle as they struggled to understand logic of his father's throne world, but they then manifested Quria, Blade Transform who grasped the logic and became determined to master the Ascendant realm. The Vex teleported away from Crota and slaughtered thousands of Hive throughout the dimension, granting them greater power. Crota and his sisters fought the Vex and created new weapons to defeat them, but Quria fled to the other side of the wound created by Crota and built gates to prevent him from closing it. After a century of stalemate, the war was ended when Oryx was summoned back by Eir.

Prince in Exile

"You are great now, and you cannot love Me. For the parts of you that were Mine have been taken from you; the parts that were His remain."

— Crota to his daughter Hashladûn following her ritual of inundation

Although Oryx saved his throne world from the Vex and became intrigued by their fascination with geometry, he punished Crota for his reckless experiment by exiling him from his court. Grabbing him by one of his legs, the Taken King flung his progeny into the Vex gate network and ordered him to return home covered in glory or not at all. For centuries, Crota traversed the Vex's gate network and fought across space and time, becoming a demon in many cultures. As time passed, he adjusted his tactics as he gained a greater understanding of his father and ceased to spare some of his victims whom he complained about his father to, and instead built mighty temples and monuments to himself to increase his power through tribute, strengthening himself and his father. Meanwhile, his father would also raise Thalnok, Fanatic of Crota as a proxy to observe his absent son after he found favor in the latter's attempts to mantle him.

Over time during his imposed exile, Crota himself would be joined by his sycophantic consort: Omnigul, Will of Crota, a zealous Wizard who became the mother of his own devoted brood. The two of them together would raise Crota's own court of disciples, including Sardon, Fist of Crota and the Deathsinger Ir Yût. At one point, a then-nameless Lokaar had attempted to murder Omnigul to fuel her own tithe, Crota gave chase to the fleeing Wizard only for her to escaped his wrath, frustrating the exiled Hive Prince. He went before Oryx and demanded his father kill Lokaar for her impudence. Oryx was instead amused and impressed by the Wizard's ability to evade his son and raised her to his court; rebuking Crota for his simplicity. Crota also created a mighty Ogre of his own design as a means to challenge the Wizard Kagoor, World-Render, which Omnigul claimed as her own personal summon.

Amongst the greatest of Crota and Omnigul's spawn was Hashladûn; eldest of four daughters along with her sisters Besurith, Kinox, and Voshyr. Even as a young Thrall she came to Crota's attention, as she was able to contend with Knights in strength and size. Intrigued by Hashladûn, Crota ordered her inundated in the old way of floods to remove her excesses and leave her distilled down to her most powerful form through purification. Hashladûn fought the forces Crota sent against her, slaying them all, but Crota himself then came for her, even more deeply impressed by her love for him expressed by her strong display of will in defying him. Dragging his daughter to a floodplain in the Ascendant Realm, he impaled her to its base in six places and began the ritual of inundation. Hashladûn survived the ritual and emerged weakened by the ritual but stronger for it, murdering the first living thing she encountered to regain her strength. Crota came before her proud and impressed, but in sorrow informed her that in her newfound greatness, she could not love him, as most of what had been his in her had washed away and left behind only what was of her grandfather, Oryx. With a cry of joy and grief he cut a hole in his realm and cast her out of his court to join the ranks of his father's.

The Great Disaster

Crota summons his army.

At some point in time of the Collapse, Crota and his spawn came to the Sol System in his everlasting pursuit of The Traveler and to wipe the last bastion of humanity it had protected. Crota would also lead the Hive in conquering Luna, which held the Pyramid of the Disciple Nezarec buried beneath the surface since the Traveler's final attack. His spawn hollowed out the planetoid into a war moon where they laid dormant until they launched their own invasion of Earth during the early City Age. In addition to Luna and the former disciple’s Pyramid, Crota became interested in the space station Cocytus, which contained experimental gates from the Golden Age of Humanity. He established his hold over those gates and created a manifold into his throne realm. From there, Crota and his brood could commune with whispers echoed through the Cocytus gates, learning to create the first Weapon of Sorrow.

The Guardians barely repelled the Hive offense at the Battle of Burning Lake; not realizing the true threat the Hive posed, they launched a counterattack on the moon, which was later called the Great Disaster. The Sword-Logic proved to be too much for the Guardians, as countless heroes fell before Crota's Blades. The God-Knight himself would emerge from the abyss as he cracked Luna's surface with every stroke of his sword and took the Light of every Guardian life that it fell. Gunnvor, the Dawncaller would rally the remaining Titans from the First Pillar Order in a desperate charge against Crota, sacrificing themselves to the Eater of Hope in a futile bid for time. Soon he would face the legendary Titan Wei Ning, overwhelming the Striker with the paracausal might of the sword logic as he impaled her upon his Cleaver. As a further show of dominance over his foes and their Light, Crota took the life of a Guardian using their own Ghost whose shell was hammered into a knife. His leadership and the power of his sword led the Hive's hordes to victory during the battle, slaying thousands of Guardians and driving them away from the moon for more than a century out of fear of Crota's power.

Despite this great victory for the Hive, Crota's plans for further conquest of humanity were put on hold due to his father calling him back to the Ascendant Plane to plan their final victory together. Within the Sea of Screams, however, two Knights - one of Oryx and one of Xivu Arath engaged in a duel in honor of their respective masters. The duel ended in a draw, but both flung themselves into the depths of an abyss and so the Knight of Oryx failed to make his tribute to a champion of Crota. This setback cost Crota's champion a significant tribute at the necessary time and thus led to his defeat in a duel against a sergeant of the God of War. Having suffered a major loss of temples and tributaries for his father, Crota judged it best to sleep upon his throne world and recover his lost tithes while his soul remained tethered to an Ascendant crystal, giving him a quick means of return to the real universe once his strength was restored. He would also entrust his own sword to the four Swarm Princes of the Hidden Swarm; to guard within the depths of the Hellmouth until his return to the physical world.

The Dark Below

Crota's End

"Crota's soul is banished. You have given me the gift of vengeance. I thank you... and even if they don't know it yet… The City thanks you."

— Eris Morn, after the banishment of Crota's soul

Seeking revenge for the Great Disaster and the death of Wei Ning, Eriana-3 led five other Guardians in an attempt to assassinate Crota within his throne world, but the hordes of Hive dwelling within the Hellmouth managed to overwhelm the fireteam, picking them off one by one. Only one of the Guardians, Eris Morn, survived, forever changed by her harrowing experiences trapped in the Hellmouth and obsessed with ending Crota before he awoke.

Decades later, Crota's court began preparing for his return to the physical realm by invading the Cosmodrome on Earth, with his consort Omnigul leading the effort to raise a Hive army for a full-scale invasion of the City upon his return. Having foreseen the imminent return of Crota, Eris called upon the aid of a newly risen Guardian to aid her in dismantling Crota's army. The Guardian successfully assassinated Crota's closest lieutenants, including the Swarm Princes and their commander Sardon. As Crota's resurrection draws nigh, Eris guides the Guardian to the Moon, where the chamber housing Crota's soul was located. The Guardian arrived in the midst of a summoning ritual and worked to disrupt it and slay the ritualist Wizards. The crystal tethering Crota's soul in the Chamber of Night would be sent back to the Ascendant realm, banishing his shadowy presence from the physical world and thereby preventing his corporeal return. Afterwards, Crota's horde was thrown into further disarray when the Guardians killed Omnigul in a strike operation, which prevents any further attempt to fully revive him.

Crota's end would be met by the Guardian leading a newly formed Raid team upon the Oversoul Throne, entered from the deepest pit of the Hellmouth. The Guardians summoned Crota from his crystal to engage in his own throne world, surrounded by his army of Ascendant Hive. When conventional means failed before the Hope-Eater, the Guardians turned Crota's own Sword Logic against him with the Cleavers of his fallen Blades, permanently killing him.

Legacy

Nightmare of Crota being confronted by a fireteam.

"Crota. Son of Oryx. He considered himself a god, and acted as such. His strength proved too much for my fireteam and I. He and his brood took their lives and left me nearly dead. Crota threatened all we had left. The Pyramid serves to do the same. It is no surprise that Crota haunts us once again."

— Eris Morn, speaking of Crota and his Nightmare.

Crota's demise ultimately caught the attention of his father, Oryx, the then God-King of the Hive and master of the Taken. Enraged by the death of his son, Oryx would bring his Dreadnaught into the Solar system and lead an army of Hive and Taken in revenge against the Guardians. Ironically, Crota's lingering Ascendant power was necessary for the Guardians to access the rupture gateway into Oryx's sanctum. Returning to the Chamber of Night that tended to the crystal that housed Crota's soul, the Guardians were able to gain a shard of the crystal but it did not hold of a piece of his soul. The Guardians now had to disrupt Crota's death ceremony to gain a sliver of his soul. Entering Crota's fortress, the Guardians narrowly slipped past the Hive defending his tomb and were able to fill the shard with Crota's death essence. With the Ascendant Shard, the Guardians were successfully able to enter Oryx's throne and defeat him. Like his son, Oryx would later fall to the Guardians who killed Crota when he was slain by them in his own throne world within the Ascendant plane.

Crota's disowned, heretical and forgotten brother, Nokris, would make his own stand against the Guardians after arising from slumber in the icy depths of Mars' Hellas Basin with his master, the Worm God Xol. The herald of Xol sought to conquer the red planet for his god but like his former family, Nokris would fall against the Warrior of Light.

As Crota was the first Hive God the Guardians ever faced and one of their most notorious foes, he haunts the Risen in their memories. Following the Scorn Hunts and the continuous fight for the Dreaming City, Crota's form would manifest as a Nightmare blocking The Guardian's path to the derelict Pyramid beneath the Scarlet Keep. The newly spawned Nightmare of Crota would prove too much for the Guardian to face, who took an essence from it before they were saved by Eris Morn. The Guardian would later face the Crota Nightmare again as they were coaxed into the interior of the Pyramid, which they then succeeded in destroying.

Crota's immediate family would be survived by his daughters Besurith, Voshyr, Kinox, and the eldest Hashladûn. Atop the newly erected Scarlet Keep upon Luna in Sorrow's Harbor, the daughters' laid plans for the Hive's future and to achieve vengeance by creating a deathless champion under their control through heretical means. Hashladûn and Besurith would both be killed by Guardians leaving Voshyr and Kinox to complete their work while hiding out. Unfortunately for Crota's line, both Voshyr and Kinox, along with their own children, would be killed by Osiris when Savathûn lured the remnants of the Scarlet Court into one place to be destroyed in one fell swoop. The Witch Queen planned this in the belief that the bloodline of Oryx had run its course.

Personality and traits

In his youth, Crota was a great warrior, although extremely brash and arrogant. His father Oryx believed he lacked the cunning of his sisters, which led to Crota being easily tricked by his aunt Savathûn into opening a portal into a Vex realm which taught the machines the Sword Logic and planted the seeds for the eventual Taking of Quria, Blade Transform. As the millennia wore on, Crota gained more respect for his father and greater understanding of the Sword Logic, increasing both of their power through mighty temples of tribute. His exiled brother Nokris, remarked that he had a taste for glory. By the time of the Great Disaster, Crota had reached the pinnacle of his strength and could easily wipe out hundreds of Light-empowered Guardians, including Wei Ning, one of the Last City's greatest champions.

Family

Hive Pantheon

Gen 1	Gen 2	Gen 3	Gen 4	Gen 5
Osmium King (M)	Oryx (M)	Nokris (M)
		Crota (M) (Consort: Omnigul (F))	Hashladûn (F)
			Besurith (F)
			Voshyr (F)	Yishra (F)
				Ayriax (F)
			Kinox (F)	Ulg'Urin (M)
		Ir Halak (F) Ir Anûk (F)
		Alak-Hul (M) (fostered) (Consort: Verok (F))
	Savathûn (F)	Balwûr (F)
		Malok (M)
		Dûl Incaru (F)
	Xivu Arath (F)	Xavan (F)
		Tir Balok (F)
		An Ragaar (M)
		Scoroboth (M)

Other potential members of the Pantheon include Mysik, Zyrak, Thyshik and Urrox. However their names may be honorary titles, as their is no further mention of a relationship to the Pantheon.

Xavan, Tir Balok, and An Ragaar are also potential members of the Pantheon; apart from their names, there is no other reference, so their inclusion is for the sake of completion.

Gameplay

Crota is only mentioned in the base game and is never fought, but players are tasked with finding and destroying the Sword of Crota.

The Wakening

The players are tasked with destroying a crystal housing the Soul of Crota in The Wakening, before the Wakers of Crota can revive his corporeal form. It fires powerful blasts at the player and is protected by many Hive, including four Wakers of Crota.

Crota's End

Destiny

Crota himself appears as the final boss of the Crota's End Raid. He will spawn after all players stand near his summoning crystal. Crota is a massive Knight with a proportionally gigantic Cleaver, which will deal devastating damage to any player he strikes. In addition, he can also fire Darkness Blasts, like a Wizard, from his hand, giving him a powerful ranged attack as well. Crota will not be vulnerable to attack at the moment, as he will be protected by a resistant shield. Once he enters the arena, all Guardians will be inflicted with a debuff called Presence of Crota, which disables the regeneration of both health and shield alike. To counteract this, one can pick up the Chalice of Light that spawns in the middle of the room; it can be picked up by anyone who needs to regenerate. Meanwhile, a Swordbearer will show up at the bottom level. It must be killed to pick up its Ascendant Sword, which is the only way to damage Crota.

To make Crota vulnerable to attack, all other players must focus all their available firepower on his shield to disable it. The player carrying the sword must rush in quickly, as the shield can regenerate in less than a second. Nothing else will be able to damage him at this time. Once his shield goes back up, everyone else should be ready to shoot it down again so that the sword carrier can get in as much damage as possible. It will take multiple sword runs to bring Crota down. After Crota recovers, he will summon his Oversoul. If not shot down, it will instantly kill the entire team.

Challenge Mode

Age of Triumph added a Challenge Mode for Crota. To complete it, nobody can hold the sword more than once. Even if a player drops it, if they pick it up again, the challenge will fail.

Destiny 2

Crota's battle in the reprised Crota's End is similar to his original version, incorporating the changed mechanics of the Raid. Crota fires Darkness Blasts at an increased rate compared to his other appearances in the game, and his Sword deals Arc damage, though still immensely high, killing in two hits on Normal and one-shotting even 100 Resilience players on Master. As before, players can only pick up Swords if they are Enlightened. The Presence of Crota debuff does not stop regeneration, but makes it so the Chalice of Light can only be claimed if both players stand in one of the pools of Light around the arena.

To make Crota vulnerable, players have to hit him with their Cleavers until his shield is downed. He will then stagger briefly, become vulnerable to normal damage, and then start fighting back again. Crota will likely destroy Wells and Wards placed by the fireteam, so higher caution is advised. When the damage phase starts, the Oversoul will start growing, with an on-screen countdown. It must be shot to stop it from wiping the team, but it will only take damage from an Enlightened player. Once Crota reaches the last fourth of his health, he will become briefly immune before engaging in a last stand. Players now must kill him quickly, still contending with the Oversoul. Depleting Crota's health will conclude the battle and Raid.

During Final Stand, a glitch occurs where even if Crota dies, the Oversoul will still wipe the team. However, when Crota dies, the room is no longer a Darkness Zone, meaning players can respawn. When the Oversoul timer reaches 0, apply any damage-over-time you have to possibly kill Crota after the team is killed.

Dares of Eternity

When the players first descend into the arena, they will have to start the encounter manually. At that point, hordes of Hive will appear, with Crota at their back. Much like the other battles against the Son of Oryx, Dares Champion Crota will only be vulnerable to attacks with Cleavers. These can be obtained by killing Crota's Swordbearers that appear from the Ascendant Portals in the arena. Once a player grabs a sword, the portals will start pouring Xûr's Edgekeepers, which can be slain to increase the damage dealt by Cleavers.

Once Crota reaches half health, he will become invulnerable and disappear, taking away all the Cleavers. Soon after, three Aspects of Crota will appear, each copying Crota's moves. The Aspects will lurk near the three Ascendant Portals, which will start pouring even more enemies. As before, players will have to collect swords from Swordbearers and use them to damage the Aspects. If the players take too long, Crota will enrage, taking away all Cleavers and Swordbearers until a group of Ogres coming from the middle portal is slain. Killing all the Aspects of Crota will end the battle.

Trivia

• It is mentioned in The Taken King that only Ascendant Hive could enter the Ascendant plane, those Hive which had killed enough to gain admittance. This meant that the means by which the Guardians accessed the Oversoul Throne on the Moon are unknown, as they did not follow the philosophy of the killing logic. A logical explanation is that Crota bled his Throne over into the Moon, becoming the same with the planetoid, meaning the same mechanics which allowed Guardians free roam on the Dreadnaught enabled them to enter Crota's realm, through the simple act of killing. The reason for Ascendance is that Guardians had not been killing long on the Dreadnaught, meaning it was necessary to steal Crota's soul.
• Crota is the first Hive and main antagonist to speak in English in-game, as his demonic whispers can be heard during the Dark Below mission, The Wakening. His father, Oryx, being the second, and Ecthar being the third. Said whispers heard include: "Closer" and "I can't die".
• The word Crota means a woman or person of scarce resource that lacks work, housing, and food often.
• The name "Crota" is also an uncommon surname in the USA.
• Crota is the first Hive deity to appear in-game.
• In Shadowkeep and Dares of Eternity, instead of his "ghostly"-like form in Dark Below, the Nightmare of Crota and the Dares's Champion have solid bodies that looks much like Thalnok, Fanatic of Crota.
  • The reason behind this as in the Crota's End, he was forced to consolidate power he had lost from a fight between a Knight of Oryx and one of Xivu Arath, whereas the Nightmare form appears as he did in the Great Disaster.
• Crota in the revamped raid looks quite different compared to the D1 version, using the "physical" form of the Nightmare and Dare's Champion version of Crota rather than the "ghostly" form seen in D1.
• Crota has possibly one of the highest kill counts of any enemy Humanity has fought, as he killed thousands of Guardians in The Great Disaster.
• The Escalation Protocol boss, Kathok, Roar of Xol uses the exact opposite mechanic as Crota or a simpler version of Destiny 2's version.

Non-canon appearances

Rising Timeline

Main article: Crota/Rising

Gallery

• 

  Crota, Son of Oryx.

• 

  Nightmare of Crota.

• 

  A render of Crota's Nightmare.

• 

  A wide view of Crota.

• 

  Crota's Oversoul Throne.

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  Crota's essence.

• 

  Crota's soul housed within a crystal.

• 

  Crota's soul rising to attack the player.

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  A far away shot of Crota's Soul.

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  A close, down shot of Crota's Soul

• 

  A farther away shot of Crota's Soul.

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  The symbol of Crota.

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  Crota's Grimoire card.

List of appearances

• Destiny (First mentioned)
  • The Dark Below (First appearance)
  • House of Wolves (Mentioned only)
  • The Taken King (Mentioned only)
  • Rise of Iron (Mentioned only)
    • Age of Triumph (Mentioned only)
• Destiny 2 (Mentioned only)
  • Curse of Osiris (Mentioned only)
  • Warmind (Mentioned only)
  • Forsaken (Mentioned only)
  • Season of the Drifter (Mentioned only)
  • Season of Opulence (Mentioned only)
  • Shadowkeep (Nightmare)
  • Season of the Undying (Mentioned only)
  • Season of Dawn (Mentioned only)
  • Season of Arrivals (Mentioned only)
  • Beyond Light (Mentioned only)
  • Season of the Hunt (Mentioned only)
  • Season of the Lost (Mentioned only)
  • 30th Anniversary Pack (Dares Champion)
  • The Witch Queen (Mentioned only)
  • Season of the Haunted (Mentioned only)
  • Season of the Witch (Non-canon appearance)
  • Into the Light (Mentioned only)
  • The Final Shape (Mentioned only)
• Kuang Xuan's Logbook (Mentioned only)
• The Hidden Dossier (Mentioned only)