Hive: Difference between revisions

Following the recent dealings with Calus and the Drifter, the Guardians return to [[Luna]] after hearing reports of renewed Hive aggression and of a new fortress that was constructed near the [[Hellmouth]], the [[Scarlet Keep]]. As the Guardian works with Vanguard forces in establishing a beachhead and driving the Hive back, they soon encounter the Scarlet Keep and strange enemies emanating dark essence. The Guardians manage to enter the keep and proceed further beneath Luna's surface, but near the bottom, they find a massive black Pyramid structure that seems to be affecting the Guardian's Ghosts negatively. Before they could investigate any further, a dark figure forms. One that, to their surprise, bears the image of Crota himself. Though the Guardians put up a fight, they prove unable to actually harm the phantom of Crota. Just when they are about to be overwhelmed as new forms emerge taking the images of [[Ghaul]] and [[Fikrul]], [[Eris Morn]] saves them with her strange enchantment. Regrouping, Eris guides the Guardians on the nature of the Scarlet Keep and that the Pyramid may be in fact a remnant of the Darkness that brought the Collapse. Further, the "Nightmares" the Guardians faced are extensions of the Pyramid meant to torment and distract the Guardian.

With Eris Morn, finally gaining the Vanguard's full support, the Guardian makes efforts in finding a way to combat the Nightmares and their influence. Believing that the Hive of the resurgent [[Hidden Swarm]] have the means, as the Scarlet Keep being near the Pyramid is no coincidence, Eris has the Guardians breach the Keep to look for any answers or Hive knowledge. At the entrance of the keep, the Guardian encounters [[Hashladûn, Daughter of Crota]], the architect of the keep. Originally thought dead after the fall of her father, Hashladûn instead took advantage of the Pyramid's power to exact her revenge against the Guardians for ravaging her lineage. Eris has the Guardians give chase as Hashladûn retreats into the keep, ascending the scarlet tower. The Guardian finally confronts Hashladûn at the tower's peak, but it's revealed that Crota's daughter lured them to her position to fulfill her vengeance. Fortunately, the Guardian overcomes her power and use of the Nightmares, managing to slay Hashladûn. From her death, the Guardian and Eris learn that Hashladûn managed to harness armor able to resist the Nightmare's influence using a forbidden piece of Hive knowledge, the [[Cryptoglyph]], found at the very bottom of the Hellmouth, the [[Catacombs]].

Resolving that the Cryptoglyph is essential in the task of combating the Nightmares and entering the Pyramid, Eris asks the Guardian to venture into the darkness of the Hellmouth once more to acquire the Cryptoglyph. The Guardian enters the Hellmouth but as they venture deeper, they lose contact with Eris. The Guardians finally reach the Catacombs and acquire the Cryptoglyph after slaying its keeper, [[Besurith, Daughter of Crota]] (Hashladûn's sister) but with Eris unable to extract them, the Guardian had to race back to the surface with the enraged Hive and Nightmares in hot pursuit. Despite the danger, the Guardians manage to escape back to the surface alive. Bringing the Cryptoglyph to Eris, she further instructs the Guardians in extracting Nightmare essence that has taken form over the system so Eris can create the armor necessary to resist and battle the Nightmares guarding the Pyramid. The Guardians manage to acquire and fuel the essence after slaying the Nightmares of [[Skolas]] (who embodied Pride), [[Taniks]] (who embodied Isolation), and [[Phogoth]] (who embodied Fear). With their essence, Eris is successful in creating the necessary armor.

With the armor acquired and the Vanguard's approval, the Guardian ventures back through the Scarlet Keep and descends towards the Pyramid. As they near, however, their Ghost begins to feel something trying to pierce them, and the Pyramid itself opens and draws them in. With their Ghost seemingly possessed by the Darkness, it taunts the Guardian on the Light's failures and weaknesses, as they battle with Crota, Ghaul, and Fikrul once more. Despite the Darkness's taunts, the Guardian succeeds in defeating the Nightmares of their greatest foes. With the Darkness seemingly welcoming them, the Guardian acquires a strange, unknown artifact from the Pyramid's center and encounters a mirror projection of themselves, that addresses itself as not as their friend or their enemy but their "''Salvation''".

Though both the Vanguard and Eris regard the Pyramid's message as their "salvation" with great suspicion and doubt, they know they must be prepared for the Darkness's imminent return. In the meantime, the Guardians continue to contain the Hive of the Scarlet Keep and the Nightmares that continue to haunt the system.

Despite the Luna Hive failing in the Scarlet Keep and the Nightmare's being continually hunted by the Guardians, Savathûn continued on with her schemes in the shadows. The Witch Queen soon discovers a massive [[Vex]] computational array on [[Io]], and seeking to use it to her advantage, sends a large Taken Blight in the array to corrupt the machine and bring it under her control. Savathûn's primary motive in this offensive is that since she seeks knowledge to inform her plans and pawns to carry them out, the array offers the desire to fulfill both of these. However, her Taken's infestation spurred the Vex to drive them back which inadvertently caught the notice of the Vanguard. Commander Zavala sends a Strike team to investigate after scans detect large Vex surges in the [[Pyramidion]]. The Guardians make their way beneath the Pyramidion and, after battling through both Taken and Vex, they encounter large blights throughout the array. The Guardians notice the blights being remarkably similar to those that infest the Dreaming City, something that the Guardians and Eris Morn suspect that the Witch Queen is involved. Knowing that the Blights require a source to anchor its presence, the Guardians find the anchor and confront the blight's source, [[Baurisk, Envoy of Savathûn]]. Despite the Taken Incendinor's power and the Vex interrupting, the Guardians succeed in destroying Baurisk, thereby breaking the Taken infestation. This allows the Vex to be able to drive the rest of the Taken off.  

Regardless of this victory, Eris Morn encourages Zavala that the Last City must be prepared for when the Witch Queen may strike next. Though Zavala remains confident that the Guardians will be able to defeat Savathûn as they have with the Taken King before her, Eris counters that the Witch Queen is not as foolish as her brother as she would not risk a direct confrontation. Therefore, Eris states the Guardians must prepare and be wise enough to know when Savathûn will show her hand.

====Clash with The Undying====

 

Though the Guardians managed to slow the Vex's invasion after breaching into the Black Garden and disrupting the flow of Vex platforms by assaulting the gate network, the Vex continue to appear. Sporadic battles continued to erupt between the Sol Divisive and the Hidden Swarm for control of the moon and the Pyramid.

{{Quote|Since last we spoke, your fireteam delved into the Moon's depths and disrupted their dark ritual. But there is still much we do not know. On what powers did the Hive seek to call? What does it have to do with the Pyramid? And what do the dread queens Savathûn and Xivu Arath think of this new shade of Darkness? Stay vigilant. If my sight is true, the Hive will attempt this ritual again. You must be there to stop them.|Eris Morn.}}

Sometime later, the Guardians return to the Scarlet Keep to investigate reports of strange and disturbing activity surrounding the Hidden Swarm's fortress, rituals that have been dubbed [[Altars of Sorrow]]. The Hidden Swarm began sacrificing [[Nightmares]] into an Ascendant Crystal to harvest their phantasmal essence. Slowly, the Guardians under Eris Morn's guidance, manage to delay these Hive rituals but notice that the center point of these rituals lies beneath the Scarlet Keep.

Traversing deep into the Keep, the Guardians unlock passages to new forbidden areas, all the while encountering strange yet powerful Hive, Disciples of the Broken Blade. After unlocking each gate and traveling deeper into the Pit, the Guardians encounter products of Hashladûn and her sisters' wicked schemes. Upon further investigation, the Guardians learned that Hashladûn and her sisters used the pits beneath the Scarlet Keep to further their magical experimentation and find a possible solution to use the Pyramid's power to create a Nightmare that assumes the form of Oryx himself. Though such a plot was in direct violation of the Sword-Logic, the Daughters of Crota believed such a breach of the Hive's sacred Logic was necessary, as the Taken King's killers, the Guardians, never assumed his place. However, the Daughters of Crota proved unable to perform such a feat, as the Nightmares could not be conjured by Hive minds. However, [[Kinox]] instead proposed to use the Nightmare essence and raise a champion of their own: [[Zulmak, Instrument of Torment]] by creating a Nightmare hybrid abomination to serve as their puppet.

Following Hashladûn's death, Zulmak, the product of the daughters' work and their most powerful champion began to stir. Resolving to prevent Zulmak from gaining more power or escaping the Pit, the Guardians descended deeper until they reached Zulmak's lair, the [[Cradle of Damnation]]. Though Zulmak proved a powerful foe, the Guardians used his Swords and magic against him, preventing him from using his Ascendant Crystal to full effect. With the Swords and magic in hand, the Guardians managed to destroy the crystal and slay Zulmak, preventing his rise from occurring.  

However, Hashladûn's sisters, [[Voshyr]], and [[Kinox]], remain at large. Worse, their use of forbidden necromantic sorcery continuously revives Zulmak, forcing the Guardians to traverse the Pit and slay Zulmak again.

 

 

{{Quote|The sky is vast, but shallow. The deep is boundless, but suffocating. There is another way.|Nokris.}}

Following the fall of the ''Almighty'', the Vanguard confirms the Darkness' arrival, with Pyramids touching down on various worlds and even disabling Rasputin. On Io, Eris Morn heeds the call of a Pyramid to learn what she can. Her attempts to hear the Darkness are disrupted by Savathûn, who jams the Pyramid's broadcasts and sends Hive and Taken to intervene. She is slowly overwhelmed but the Guardian, who was following her on Zavala's orders, is able to save Eris from the Witch-Queen's servants. Though injured, Eris manages to overcome the Witch Queen's power as she finds a tree of Silver Wings, with a seed of dark power at its base. After returning to the Last City, the Vanguard Commander pleads with her not to go any further but Eris leaves anyway, determined to figure out what Savathûn and the Darkness want. She returns to Io, only to find it swarmed with Savathûn's forces. Eris calls on the Guardians to take back the tree, and when they succeed, she uses the [[Seed of Silver Wings]] to receive and interpret the Pyramid's broadcasts.  

During their trek into the Court of Savathûn, the Guardian learns that Oryx's disowned son, [[Nokris]], has returned and is now in service to his aunt and her goals. It is soon discovered that the former Herald of Xol was abandoned by his god after finding more worth in the Worm God's killers and, looking for a new purpose, used trickery to enter the Ascendant Realm, encountering the Witch Queen doing so. Both wishing to be free from the Darkness, Nokris agreed to a bargain with his scheming aunt. In exchange for teaching his aunt the secrets of Necromancy and interfering with the Pyramid's attempts to communicate with the Guardians, Nokris would take part in Savathûn's plans and learn the power to Take from the "[[Quria, Blade Transform|Dreaming Mind]]".

Ultimately, after weeks of fighting Taken and deciphering as much as they can form the Darkness' messages, the Guardians finally manage to confront Nokris himself to put an end to Savathûn's interference. Upon entering into a new area of Savathûn's Court, near a Blight the size of a sun, the Guardian faces off against Oryx's exiled spawn once more. Despite Nokris' sorcery and use of his aunt's forces, the Guardian manages to slay Nokris, this time presumably for good.

 

Meanwhile, Guardians of new and old Light alike would investigate the appearance of the Hive wizard [[Navôta, Eir Spawn]], who had taken over the old Hive nest in the [[Cosmodrome]] after Omnigul's death.<ref>'''Bungie (2020/11/10)''', ''[[Destiny 2]]: [[Beyond Light]] - [[The Disgraced]]''</ref> After killing Guardians [[Caster-3]] and [[Maeve]], Navôta would attempt to finish their remaining member [[Shaw Han]] only to be driven off by a newly-Risen Guardian. With her position threatened by brood [[Ak-Baral, Rival of Navôta|rival]]s suspicious of her weakness, the disgraced Navôta was forced to make a final confrontation with the Guardians at the [[Terrestrial Complex|Terrestrial]] and [[Jovian Complex]]es. Despite attempting to rally the brood in a trap, she was defeated and the Hive in the Cosmodrome were left scattered and deprived of leadership.

{{Quote|There it is. Along with the entire Scarlet Court. Crota's remaining children, and their spawn, can be destroyed in one fell swoop.|Osiris}}

 

The remaining two daughters of Crota in their hiding along with the very last of the noble dynasty of the once-great God-King of the Hive, [[Oryx, the Taken King|Oryx]], were dealt another death blow. Almost a week after the Guardian's investigations and toils on [[Europa]], the legendary warlock [[Osiris]] came to Luna after tracking the most potent of the Cryptolith's signals across the Solar System. Beneath the shadow of the Lunar Pyramid, Osiris came across a massive gathering of Hive that featured the remaining entirety of the Scarlet Court, including the daughters, along with the [[High Celebrant of Xivu Arath]]. Unknown to Osiris or likely the Swarm, the High Celebrant was sent to Luna to wrest free the Swarm from [[Savathûn, the Witch Queen| The Witch Queen's]] plans and instead reform Luna in [[Xivu Arath, God of War| Xivu's]] image. A world where all tithes were tribute to her.

In an audacious and "suicidal" move as described by [[Sagira]], Osiris descended upon the gathering as the mighty Phoenix he was and began to slaughter the gathering. In the year since the events of Shadowkeep, [[Voshyr]] and [[Kinox]] had both heirs and sons/daughters of their own - more nobles to Oryx's legacy. These same offspring would be with their respective mothers in their final moments. Voshyr and her two daughters [[Yishra]] and [[Ayriax]] were the first to perish before they could even finish their incantation - incinerated by Osiris' [[Daybreak]]. Kinox was soon to be second who attempted fleeing into the crevices of Luna with her son [[Ulg'Urin]] and his cohort of Knights raising shields to defend her only to perish from a [[Nova Bomb]] but despite his efforts, Kinox also perished in the blast. The remaining lesser nobles were killed in the slaughter which actually strengthened Xivu Arath thanks to the violence committed by the Warlock. Osiris was then stripped of his supers when the visage and will of Xivu Arath emanating from the large Cryptolith taunted him. Osiris was pinned and around him were cleaved Runes in the stone by the High Celebrant. In a stunning and tragic act, Sagira broke through the oppressive force Xivu projected that was slowly killing Osiris and sacrificed herself - destroying the Cryptolith and projection, saving Osiris but leaving him Ghostless. The light in the place of Sagira's sacrifice remained for days.

With Kinox's and Voshyr's deaths confirmed and that of their spawn, the lineage of Oryx would truly meet it's end and without them, Zulmak would be unable to resurrect again. Further, with the end of the Scarlet Court, the remnants of the Hidden Swarm would pledge themselves to Xivu Arath and her Wrathborn.