The Pale Heart

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“

A surreal domain of memory within the Traveler, corrupted by the Witness.

”

The Pale Heart
Overview
Location:	The Traveler
Enemy factions:	The Dread Shadow Legion Xivu Arath's Horde House of Salvation Lucent Brood Sol Divisive
Hostile races:	Taken Cabal Hive Fallen Vex Scorn
Gameplay
Accessibility:	Complete Transmigration
Landing zones:	The Lost City The Landing The Blooming The Impasse

The Pale Heart of the Traveler is a destination in The Final Shape located within the Traveler.

Overview

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"I ever tell you about the Hunter Vanguard before me? His name was Andal Brask; he was my mentor.
Great shot. TERRIBLE gambler. Still, we had this friendly little wager about what was inside the Traveler.
I told him, "There's nothing." So of coarse, Andal says, "Well, then I'm betting on everything."
[chuckles] "Everything." Ah, lucky guess."

— Cayde-6 to the Guardian

The Pale Heart itself serves as a world crafted by the Traveler's consciousness and those within it. When first entered by the Guardian, it appears as a vast space lit by diffuse white light, with organic-looking structures visible in the distance; a series of platforms with aesthetics similar to the Tree of Silver Wings manifests to allow the Guardian to walk through the space. As the Guardian continued on, the surroundings gradually transformed into a lush green wilderness dotted with locales and structures mirroring or resembling various places and things seen by the Guardian in the past.

History

Origins

The origins and full nature of the Pale Heart remain as mysterious as those of the Traveler itself; it presumably has existed within the Traveler since the time of its creation.

Witch Queen Epilogue

"We have seen enough. The children of Sol cry out for salvation. You promised them life, but deliver only death, as you have for so many before. Enough. Enough death. Enough life. You have no pieces left to place. The game is over.
Do not be afraid. Your pale heart holds the key.
This time... There is no escape."

— The Witness to the Traveler

The first known reference to the Pale Heart was when the Witness declared to the Traveler that it would take action following the defeat of Savathûn by The Guardian. Shortly afterward, it used the Veil to form a link with the Traveler and forge a portal between the Sol System and the Pale Heart.

The Final Shape

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Around a year after the Witness entered the Pale Heart, Crow was able to successfully follow it through the portal using a wish granted by the Ahamkara Riven. In the process, however, he also wished for Cayde-6's return, resulting in the deceased Hunter Vanguard returning to life within the Pale Heart as a construct made of Light. The two Hunters found themselves in a surreal wilderness, surrounded by landscapes that seemed partly to be drawn from their own memories of the world outside the Traveler, and encountered one another shortly after Crow's arrival. Cayde initially reacted with hostility upon recognizing Crow as his murderer, but the two quickly came to an understanding and agreed to work together.

At this time, the Witness had created a vast monolith at the center of the landscape within the Pale Heart, from which it sought to use the Traveler's Light to reshape the universe outside of the Traveler in accordance with its vision of the Final Shape. Shortly after Crow entered the portal, the Witness began transforming Earth and the Last City, but the Traveler managed to resist its efforts and undo the changes moments after they began.

Locations

• The Blooming (Landing Zone)
  • The Blooming Deep (Lost Sector)
  • The Divide
  • The Seclusion
• The Landing (Landing Zone)
  • The Forgotten Deep (Lost Sector)
  • The Refraction
    • The Intrusion
• The Lost City (Landing Zone)
  • The Lost City, Outskirts
  • The Threshold
• The Impasse (Landing Zone)
  • The Abscess
  • The Broken Deep (Lost Sector)
  • The Transgression
    • The Maelstrom
    • The Sacrarium
• Substratum
  • Dissipation
  • Warren
  • Repository
  • Verity
  • Zenith
• The End

Memories

"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.

Hakim's grave

• Zavala: He's asleep. Just got him down.

• Safiyah: After all that running around you two did today? I'm surprised it took this long.

• Zavala: I'll admit, uh... I did stay and watch him a few minutes longer. Heh. Just to be sure.

• Safiyah: [chuckles warmly] That smile he has right as sleep makes his eyes too heavy to keep open... I could watch him for hours.

• Zavala: Hours and hours...

• Safiyah: [chuckles] What?

• Zavala: Your eyes. [laughs softly] He has them. Perhaps not by birth, but... in spirit. They shine so brightly. YOU shine so brightly.

• Safiyah: And I pray he does not inherit his father's honeyed words, or you and I will be in very deep trouble.

• Zavala: [chuckles warmly]

Zavala and Targe statues

• Zavala: Bring him back. Bring him back!

• Targe: I can't.

• Zavala: Take my Light!

• Targe: You know I can't.

• Zavala: Would you? Would you bring him back if you could? Find a way, Targe! PLEASE! Bring back my son.

Uldren and Mara statues

• Uldren Sov: Behold, sister. The lie that makes itself true: an Ahamkara.

• Mara Sov: Do you know what power you hold within your hands?

• Uldren Sov: I know it with my very soul. This is the way we safeguard our people.

• Mara Sov: You gave chase to my words without hesitation! I hoped you might at least refuse!

• Uldren Sov: Never! [laughs nervously] Tell me you are pleased.

• Mara Sov: I am, Uldren... but more for your return than for a gift I never thought possible.

• Uldren Sov: I voyaged worlds for you, Mara. I brought you a wish-dragon! Are you not proud of your brother?

• Mara Sov: Mostly I missed him.

Resonant splinter

• Mithrax: [hums softly]

• Eido: [fusses and chitters]

• Mithrax: Ah, Eido, why do you not sleep? You are tired. I— I am tired. Do you wish to hear a story, hm? Beloved daughter, I will tell you a story of Riis. As my mother told me. Before the Long Drift, before the Great Machine left our people, we lived in heart-joy. We built great cities that reached the sky. We built great ships that brought us to distant stars. We were kind, and gentle. It was our sky, they were our stars. Many hands held us aloft, together. This was Riis. It sheltered us, and we tended it, as we tended our people.

• Eido: [chitters happily]

• Mithrax: You will never know Riis, my hatchling. My Light. You will never know it as my mother did. But… but also… you will never know my hardship. I will be sure of that.

Savathûn's crystalline prison

• The Witness: Your brother's conquest cut a path towards the final shape. When you have finished pouring your poison in his ear...

• Savathûn: Not MY poison.

• The Witness: We see your doubts. You speak them to Oryx.

• Savathûn: Doubts? After all this time, you think I have doubts?

• The Witness: Remember your sisters, little Sathona. Remember the syzygy.

• Savathûn: What changed the motion of our moons, my Witness?

• The Witness: You cried out... as your brother did, as your sister did. Into the Darkness. Now the children of Sol do the same.

• Savathûn: You aren't the answer they want.

• The Witness: We are the answer you received.

Cayde's remains

• Zavala: We're done here.

• Ikora Rey: We're done here when I say we're done here. How dare you dismiss my command like that!

• Zavala: That was not a command! It was vengeance, pure and simple, and you know it. You're better than that!

• Ikora Rey: Call it what it is! At least I have the spine to take action. Meanwhile, you sit back here at your pathetic War Table, sulking!

• Zavala: I'm grieving our fireteam.

• Ikora Rey: And I am grieving our friend, Zavala! Cayde's killer walks free, and you're too high and mighty to give the order yourself, so you sit back and let the Guardian do your dirty work for you! You disgust me.

Iron War Axe

• The Crow: Devotion to my potential... [scoffs] I don't know what you think that potential is, or... why you left me this.

• Lord Saladin: What do you see when you hold that weapon in your hands?

• The Crow: Lessons... stained into the blade.

• Lord Saladin: Wrong. You're spending too much time looking at blemishes. Devote yourself to them, and you miss the edge's sharpness, the sturdiness of the haft. All things have potential, if they are properly cared for. If not... they rust, they chip, and eventually... they shatter. People are no different. I was in command. There was an alliance to protect, and you were chipping away at yourself. You were a new Light with a future; it was my responsibility to care for you. Now... it's time you figured out what that future is.

Reverse waterfall

• Caiatl: Father... if that person is still within this twisted flesh of a disciple... It's over, and my blade rests over your throat. I cannot forgive you. But were it possible for us to walk a different path, side by side... I would. The Cabal are dead. Heritage and tradition smolder with Torobatl... Your golden vision melted down and recast into a new age. We have paid our dues. It is time for the empire to rise again. Not as Cabal, not as a revival of what was. We will redeem what was lost.

Veiled Statues

• Caiatl: On the eve before battle, we once carved messages on the inside of the ornamentation we wore upon our tusks... "Last words", you might say. Bodies were left to rot where they fell, but these bands were returned to the families of the dead, and passed down across generations. I will wear my ancestors' for this Operation Ahamkara.

• Zavala: No. I need you here in the City. You and Saladin must ring it with your spears. In all my years... I have faced certain death countless times. And yet, never have I felt closer to it than in this moment.

• Caiatl: Unlike my ancestors, your people count on a triumphant return.

• Zavala: Empress... I don't think I return from this mission.

• Caiatl: Is it that you expect not to return? Or perhaps, Commander, is it that you hope not to?

Activities

Vendors

• Ghost
• Micah's Conduit

Patrol

• Overthrow

Story missions

• Transmigration
• Temptation
• Exegesis
• Requiem
• Ascent
• Dissent
• Iconoclasm
• Excision

Cysts

• Alone in the Dark
  • Aerial Ace: Cyst
  • Moth-Infested: Cyst
  • Searing Light: Cyst
  • Slayer: Cyst
  • Smoldering Darkness: Cyst
  • Sword Dance: Cyst

Adventures

• The Hollow, Part I
• The Hollow, Part II
• Home, Part I
• Home, Part II
• Queens, Part I
• Queens, Part II

Strikes

• Liminality

Raid

• Salvation's Edge

Exotic quests

• Convalesence
  • Convalescence: Rootbound
  • Convalescence: Underbrush
  • Convalescence: Greenery
  • Convalescence: Budding
• Destined Heroes
  • Hope
• Dual Destiny
• Wild Card

Patrol Activities Transcript

"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.

Stitching

Introduction

• Micah-10: Currents of healing Light are congested here. Follow the flow to allow it through.

Or

• Micah-10: The Light seeks to move through this terrain. Your presence following the flow can guide it to its destination.

Or

• Micah-10: Move swiftly and follow the path of Traveler's Light through this terrain. Guide it to freedom.

Or

• Micah-10: There's a current of Light struggling to weave through this terrain. If you follow the flow, you can help it move freely.

Complete

• Micah-10: The Light flows freely again. Thank you, Guardian.

• Caiatl: The Traveler reminds me of a great plains beast of Torobatl. It required small birds to pick parasites off its hide, and keep it healthy.

Or

• Micah-10: There, the Light flows again, pushing back the blight.

• Mara Sov: These ethereal currents remind me of the flow of the Ley Lines. Perhaps there is intentional symmetry in their design.

Or

• Micah-10: We're done all we can, the Light is flowing.

• Mithrax: Remarkable, the Light bleeds freely into the land again. I pray the Traveler finds relief in these ministrations.

Mending

Introduction

• Micah-10: The blight spreads through these brambles. If you take them to a font of Light, they will wither and decay.

Or

• Micah-10: The Traveler is infested with these blighted brambles. We must purge them in the Light.

Complete

• Micah-10: It'll take a while to purge all the blight from the Pale Heart, but this task is merely great, not insurmountable.

• Mithrax: House Light stands with you, Micah, in devoting to the cause of healing the Great Machine. Together, we will end this plague.

Or

• Micah-10: There's much work left to do to heal the Traveler. This blight will take years to fully purge.

• Caiatl: My legions will take fire to every square inch of the blight, day and night, until there is nothing left of the Witness. Not even a memory.

Expunging

Introduction

• Micah-10: A wellspring of power blossoms from the land. Use it to purge this corruption.

Or

• Micah-10: Take this power, Guardian, and wield it against the blight.

Or

• Micah-10: Though the Witness' blight is prolific, the Traveler arms you to purge it.

Or

• Micah-10: As Misraaks says, the Light provides. Now use what is offered to purge the corruption.

Complete

• Micah-10: There's more work to be done. The Traveler won't be healed overnight.

• Mithrax: We are fortunate the Great Machine still lives. We must do everything in our power to protect this gift.

Or

• Micah-10: You've done everything you can to purge the blight, and we'll continue to fight it wherever it emerges.

• Caiatl: It is true; a warrior's duty is never done, and vigilance is the price we must pay for peace... but a price we will pay gladly.

Or

• Micah-10: We do all we can to cleanse the Traveler of this blight... but our work isn't done.

• Mara Sov: I wish you were wrong, Micah. But I know that our victory here may only lead to greater conflicts to come... from enemies unknown.

Restoration

Introduction

• Micah-10: Corruption spreads thick here. Bathe yourself in the cleansing Light of the Traveler and purge it.

Or

• Micah-10: Bathe in the Light, Guardian, and use it to purge the Witness' corruption.

Complete

• Micah-10: Wherever the Witness touched, this blight spread. But one day, with your help, there will be nothing left of it.

• Caiatl: It is said that to be forgotten is the truest form of death. May the Witness suffer this ignoble fate, and its name fade from history.

Or

• Micah-10: This blight is tenacious, spreading so long as even a single root remains.

• Mithrax: Hmm, such is the nature of evil... If we allow it to take root in even the smallest of forms, it will spread like a disease.

Or

• Micah-10: The Traveler is healing, but it will be many years yet before it recovers from this calamity.

• Mara Sov: I look forward to the day when we look on the Traveler anew, and perhaps learn more about its purpose.

Offering

Introduction

• Micah-10: Interesting. The Light has made itself manifest in a material form, fabricating a gift for you. But I cannot tell where.

Or

• Micah-10: A gift born of the Light has been forged from the Traveler's grace, but its location is hard to discern. Get hunting, Guardian.

Or

• Micah-10: The Light has taken shape in material form, an offering to you from the Traveler. All you need to do is find it.

Or

• Micah-10: The Traveler wishes to bestow a gift upon you, Guardian. All you must do... is find it.

Complete

• Micah-10: The Light has the power to take material shape, to form objects of mass and matter. But how are the designs determined?

• Mara Sov: Perhaps the Pale Heart is the answer — it is memories. While it is the Dark that remembers, the Traveler, too, has a mind all its own.

Or

• Mithrax: I have long known the Light can be sculpted into material form. Legends of ancient Splicers from Riis speak of these feats.

• Micah-10: What I wouldn't give to have seen Riis in its height. Perhaps one day, the Traveler will show me.

Or

• Caiatl: The Light can take the shape of weapons, of armor, of whatever the Traveler desires. Yet it prefers insects... plants... birds. Curious.

• Micah-10: Maybe the Traveler had to hope for us all, that there's a time where weapons will no longer be needed. But that day isn't today.

Trivia

• The Pale Heart is the first and only destination, currently, to contain each of the existing enemy species.

Gallery

• 

  Cayde-6 is seen in an overgrown replication of the Tower.

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List of appearances

• Destiny 2: The Witch Queen (First mentioned)
  • Lightfall (Mentioned only)
  • Season of the Wish (First appearance)
  • The Final Shape
  • Episode: Echoes (Mentioned only)
  • Episode: Revenant (Mentioned only)
  • 10th Anniversary