Future War Cult

"There is no future but now. No truth but war."

— Grimoire description

The Future War Cult (FWC) was one of the factions of the Last City.^[1] Members of the Cult are known for their military prowess as well as their secrecy. They believe that war with the Darkness is inevitable, whether they stay on Earth or attempt to flee, and therefore they must be ready to fight.

They are also deeply concerned with fate, and whether or not it is possible to alter history altogether. The Cult is led by a group called the Inner Circle.^[2] Lakshmi-2 is the current Future War Cult representative to the Consensus. She sells a variety of FWC-branded armor, weapons, and emblems to Guardians intended for Crucible use.

History

Archaeological findings indicate that they have existed as early as the late Golden Age.^[3] The Future War Cult was founded by Dr. Maya Sundaresh and her team in Lhasa, as a result of their experiments on a Vex-inspired mind-forking device used to look into the future. This device caused its users to become mentally unstable, and they began worshipping the device as a god.^[4] The modern FWC recovered the design of the device and rebuilt it within the safety of The City. Use of the device was abandoned when most users became insane, reporting different timelines where the Darkness is victorious or the City had fallen. This device forms the basis of FWC's beliefs.^[3] The users of the device likely did not want to be in a reality where the city is fallen to the Darkness.^[3] Perhaps this is the very reason why fundamental Future War Cult ideals consist of the need to prepare for the inevitable wars of the future.^[3]

The Future War Cult was once an outsider faction. When the Concordat faction fell from grace, the Future War Cult was selected to replace it in the Consensus and was granted access to the Tower. The Consensus felt that the Cult's philosophy was more interesting than dangerous, and its focus on combat would both attract former Concordat members and aid in the Guardians' effort to restore the City's territory.^[5]

When the Ahamkara began warping Venus, the Future War Cult sent consultants to aid the Vanguard in investigating discrepancies and disagreements about the timeline of events on the planet.^[6]

Future War Cult insignia

Recently, Future War Cult has been investigating the disappearances of certain Guardians who have apparently been lost to time. These Guardians are Praedyth, Ana Bray, and Pujari.^[7] The exotic quest for the Pulse Rifle No Time To Explain includes visits to the War Cult's leader Lakshmi-2 in between quest steps, including when players turn in items such as a bracelet that belonged to Ana Bray, one of the founders of the research group Clovis Bray, as well as a dead Ghost marked with an FWC paint job, possibly meaning that one of the people lost to the Vex inside the Vault of Glass was once a member of the Cult.

The Red War

The onset of the Red War was actually predicted by the FWC but no one believed their warnings, some even laughed at them and even called Lakshmi-2 a zealot. Despite this, the FWC was prepared when the Red Legion arrived and invaded, fighting the Cabal back. They used this as a rallying cry to recruit more Guardians to their cause during the Faction Rallies. However, half of the Inner Circle disappeared during the war. Lakshmi-2 noted that none of their deaths had been predicted and suspected that they were still alive somewhere.^[8]

Season of the Splicer

In the Season of the Splicer, the Future War Cult is described to be bleeding members from its faction. Many leaving after Lakshmi-2 publicly denounced Ikora Rey for allowing the Fallen of the House of Light to live within city walls or after discovering Lakshmi's plan to stage a coup against the Vanguard along with the leaders of Dead Orbit and New Monarchy.

Known Members

Golden Age Membership

City Age Membership

Director Lakshmi-2 (leader)
Ana Bray (inferred)
R&D Head Arsha Saad^[9]
Deliah
Hari-5
Inachis
Novarro (formerly^[10])
Praedyth^[11]
Riley

Destiny 1 Gear

Players earn reputation with FWC by completing reputation missions (Patrol missions, Bounties, Strikes, Crucible matches, etc) after allying with FWC. The following items are available:^[12]

Year 2

Rank 0: Nothing.
Rank 1: Legendary Class Item, Legendary Leg armor, and Legendary Gauntlets.
Rank 2: Legendary FWC armor. Armor provides bonuses to discipline and intellect.
Rank 3: Legendary FWC weapons.^[3]
Rank 25: Exotic FWC Class Item. (Players must complete the accompanying exotic quest)

Year 3

Players can choose from three categories upon reaching a new level with this faction: Future War Cult Weapons, Future War Cult Armor, or Future War Cult Chroma. Selecting one of these gives the player a guaranteed item from that category with a randomly rolled set of perks, as well as a rare chance for additional items such as FWC-themed shaders, ships, Sparrows and emblems.

Destiny 2 Gear

Year 1

Players can only pledge to factions during special events known as faction rallies. During this time, players pledged to Future War Cult or either of the other factions can earn tokens during specific events such as Strikes, Public Events and the Crucible.

Quotes

"What does the future bring? We alone have the answer. It has always been war. War between humans. War between species. War between Light and Darkness. War is the fundamental fabric of the universe. Dare we defy it? Will you help us prepare?"

— Allegiance recruitment speech

"War is the only way, Guardian. No walls will keep war out, no colony ships will outrun it, no debates or councils could ever ward it off. We must embrace it as our future, for it is the only way we will ever secure our present."

— Alternate allegiance recruitment speech

"The fiercest contest lies ahead. This is irrefutable."

— helmet description^[13]

"Accept war as a fundamental process, not a transient condition."

— gauntlet description

"War is the struggle to exist. Everything real is a combatant."

— chest armor description

"When the last war comes, we will be the victors."

— leg armor description

"Tomorrow will be as yesterday was. There will always be a battle to be won."

— cloak description

"History's lords have ever painted the future in tones of fire and shadow."

— cloak description

"For every dead yesterday there waits a new dawn, with no promise of tomorrow."

— bond description

"Darkness consumes, but we shall mark the abyss with eternal fire."

— bond description

"There is no doubt that our future will be won in battle."

— mark description

"Passion and patience in equal measure will open the unlimited way."