Seraphs

"[...] But, as always, you proved equal to the task. The Traveler chose you well. I once employed Human agents in a similar manner. I dubbed them "Seraphs". Granted them access to experimental armaments and armor. At times, I wonder if I predicted the Traveler's creation of Guardians, or if I independently deemed my avatars worthy of such responsibility. Whatever my intrinsic reasoning, the results were sound. You and the Seraphs are kindred spirits, stalwart defenders of your kind. In the past, I have made errors in judgement. Decisions based on faulty premises and flawed moral frameworks. But you are proof that the Seraph Protocol was no such error. Choosing to trust humanity may have been the best of my decisions."

— Rasputin to the Young Wolf ^[1]

The Seraphs, also known as the Seven Seraphs, were Human agents employed by the Warmind and active during the Golden Age. They worked closely with Rasputin with each member being entrusted with experimental armaments and armor; including a Warmind Khanjali.

They operated from combat bunkers across the system which were built and stored by Rasputin; their main base of operations being Seraph Station in geosynchronous orbit of Earth. Eventually, all of the Seraphs were wiped out during the Collapse. When the Guardians joined forces with Rasputin, they uncovered their armaments in defunct bunkers and rediscovered their legacies.^[2] Eventually, they became the Warmind's newest generation of Seraphs up until his final deletion.^[1]

History

The Collapse

During the events of the Collapse, the Seraphs had been mobilizing by Rasputin when word reached them of events surrounding Titan, which had suffered a massive extinction-level event caused by the Pyramids when they manipulated the moon 's gravity into unleashing massive tsunamis across the methane oceans and flooded their cities.^[3]

On Earth, First Lieutenant Artur Voronin and his superior Morozova were stockpiling munitions as surviving civilians were being escorted into a nearby evac station to wait out the ongoing calamity in cryo-induced hibernation. By then, the Pyramids had unleashed a paracausal storm across the surrounding landscape, separating Voronin and Morozova amidst the chaos and threatening the station and its people. Voronin attempts to save his mortally-wounded officer just as the Traveler came to the planet and into his vicinity. Artur and Morozuva were then saved by faculty from the nearby evac station and placed in cryo-sleep; the last thing that the first lieutenant had seen was of the Traveler's sacrifice. ^[4]

Season of the Seraph

After being restored, but prior to his sacrifice, Rasputin would leave one final message for The Guardian, referring to them as "my Seraph."

Members

Trivia

Seven Seraphs was previously one of five factions revealed during the pre-alpha phase of Destiny's development, alongside New Monarchy, Dead Orbit, Future War Cult, and Osiris.
According to Rob Adams, Bungie's Lead World Artist for Destiny, Seven Seraphs was a program overseen by the Cosmodrome's "higher-ups", who determined where to construct Rasputin's bunker.^[5]
The number seven in the faction's name is a nod to Bungie's recurring use of the number 7.
Seraphs, also known as seraphim, are celestial beings, and variants of the angels in Jewish and Christian faiths. Seraphs are typically described as six winged beings who surround God's throne. Seraph literally means 'burning one' in Hebrew.
The plural of "Seraph" is "Seraphim", this likely is where the Seraphim Vault got its name.