Collapse

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Previous:	Vex-Exo War (for Humanity) Whirlwind (for the Hive)
Next:	Warlord Conflict (for Humanity) Theodicy War (for the Awoken) Battle of Burning Lake (for the Hive)
Collapse
Fronts:	All across the Sol System
Outcome:	Humanity brought to the brink of extinction Nearly every human colony and facility in the system destroyed The Traveler goes dormant after facing the Pyramids The Pyramid Fleet retreats to the edge of the galaxy The Traveler loses a shard The Traveler releases countless Ghosts The Ghosts reanimate thousands of deceased humans and provide them with the Light Savathun betrays Nezarec and deceives the Witness Savathun hides the Veil on Neptune Nezarec lies dormant inside the Lunar Pyramid Rasputin fails to face the Pyramid Fleet and goes dormant, abandoning the active defense of human population and prioritizing the survival of the entire race (TWILIGHT EXIGENT), waiting for a chance to counterattack (MIDNIGHT EXIGENT) All civilian evacuees from Titan targeted and killed through Warsat fire for unknown reasons Rasputin retreats to his main facility on Mars, splitting into subminds across the system's various planets and moons Rasputin launches every Exodus Program ship to try to save Humanity Exodus Green ends up inside of an anomaly of Light and Darkness and its passengers wake up in the Distributary becoming the first Awoken. Exodus Indigo ends up inside Neptune and its passengers, together with Ishtar Collective's scientists, discover the Veil and create Neomuna. Countless Exodus ships fail to launch from Earth's surface or are destroyed in the Reef. Exodus Black crashes on Nessus The Solar system is left defenseless Vex Collectives reawaken across the system Fallen Houses enter the system Spawn of Crota and Grasp of Nokris enter the system Cabal Scout Legions enter the system and entrench themselves on Mars.
Belligerents Humanity Rasputin Traveler Black Fleet Hive Vex Commanders Rasputin Traveler The Witness Nezarec, Final God of Pain Savathûn, the Witch Queen Strength Countless Human and Exo soldiers Countless Rasputin Frames, Warsats and installations Unknown number of Pyramids Casualties Countless Human and Exo soldiers Countless Rasputin Frames, Warsats and installations Unknown Nezarec, Final God of Pain Civilian casualties Billions of humans

"There is no hope anymore.
Only the screams of humanity."

— Henriette Meyrin during the Collapse.

The Collapse was a cataclysm in Human history that nearly brought the species to extinction. Following the Golden Age, during which Humanity colonized the Sol System, the Black Fleet, under the command of Nezarec, attacked Sol and brought the Golden Age to an end. The Collapse ended when the Traveler sacrificed itself to repel the Black Fleet.

Timeline of events

Immediately before the Collapse, an entity or group of entities were detected just beyond the edge of the Solar System, in what was termed a "TRANSIENT NEAR EXTRASOLAR EVENT"; later information suggests this was the Black Fleet entering the Sol System. The only means of determining that a transient event had even occurred was through the detection of a 0.3-second displacement of gravity waves, as well as anomalous interactions in the local Higgs field traced to sterile neutrino scattering. An AI observing the event, the Warmind Rasputin, was able to derive some information but was unable to ascertain its mechanism. Rasputin conducted an "Omnibus analysis" of the event's effects on local spacetime, measuring a wide range of data points including direction, distance, range, speed, and size as well as a comprehensive pattern analysis of the event itself. This last set of data showed, to a certainty of "9 Sigma", a definite and measurable pattern that had a complex, almost linguistic, structure that demonstrated both intelligence and intent.

In an attempt to better understand the phenomenon by recreating all of its known variables (also known as a "bootstrap simulation"), Rasputin reran the data through a series of iterations which included a number of randomized inputs, in a process known as a Monte Carlo analysis. Despite this, it was unable to derive any definitive information about the event or its source; however, it was able to determine that whatever was behind the event was clearly a complex structure, acting with clear purpose. Rasputin concluded that the source of the event not only failed to conform to any known phenomena in the Standard Model of particle physics (thus labeling it "acausal"), it was also directed, acting with anger, and almost certain to reach the solar system in a short amount of time. As a result, the previously issued Skyshock alert was upgraded to OCP:EXTINCTION, and a number of defensive protocols were added. In the interim, Rasputin activated TWILIGHT EXIGENT to shift his priorities towards maximizing the amount of Humans that would survive an attack by the Black Fleet; most notably, he would use this protocol to destroy information on the Fleet the New Pacific Arcology had discovered independently of his own analyses by killing those responsible.

Following the arrival of the phenomenon, natural disasters tore across the solar system. On Titan in particular, a gravitational anomaly deformed the shape of the moon, causing devastating methane tidal waves to wash the surface of the moon and shatter the arcologies. Evacuation efforts began, but were silenced by the continued gravitational forces, as well as continuous Warsat fire that for unknown reasons targeted civilians leaving the moon. Scattered records exist of monstrous creatures and strangling miasmas of Darkness tormenting the people of Sol during the Black Fleet's assault.

In what semi-mythical accounts survived to the City Age, it is said the Traveler released a huge pulse of energy, driving back the forces of Darkness to the outer reaches of the system but entering a state of dormancy as a result. However, in reality, the Traveler was not solely responsible for driving away the Black Fleet: Savathûn, the Witch Queen betrayed the Disciple Nezarec, hid the Veil on Neptune, and apparently tricked the Witness into leaving the Sol System. Nezarec's remains would be left behind on the Moon, entombed within his own Pyramid for centuries after the Collapse.

After the Black Fleet was pushed back, the Traveler released countless Ghosts. These small beings would go on to find their chosen ones, imbuing them with the gift of Light. After this, the Traveler entered a comatose state while humanity entered the Dark Age.

List of appearances

• Destiny (First mentioned)
• Cayde's Treasure Island Book (Mentioned only)
• Destiny 2 (Mentioned only)
• Destiny: Warmind (Mentioned only)
• Mysterious Logbook (Mentioned only)
• The Hidden Dossier (Mentioned only)
• Bitter (Mentioned only)
• Entelechy (Mentioned only)