Cayde-6

"I don't have time to explain why I don't have time to explain."
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Cayde-6
Biographical information
Homeworld:	Earth
Species:	Exo
Gender:	Male
Eye color:	Light Aqua Blue
Political and military information
Affiliation:	Vanguard The City
Rank:	Hunter Vanguard
Class:	Hunter (Gunslinger), (Blade Barrage), (Bladedancer)
Notable info:	Nearly assassinated Taniks, the Scarred Imprisoned the Scorned Barons Owns a journal written by his past self Created the plan to infiltrate the Dreadnaught and kill Oryx Killed in cold blood by Uldren Sov, brother to Mara Sov, Queen of the Awoken with his own gun, the Ace of Spades Resurrected by Riven of a Thousand Voices as a construct of Light Sacrificed himself to resurrect The Ghost Former owner of Colonel

"Nobody makes my fate but me."

— Cayde-6

Cayde-6 was an Exo Guardian and former Vanguard for the Hunter class who was partnered with the Ghost Sundance. A famous explorer and adventurer in his younger days, Cayde ran with a pack of Hunters that included Shiro-4 and Andal Brask, his predecessor as Hunter Vanguard. After Andal was murdered by Taniks, the Scarred, whom Cayde was believed to have previously killed, Cayde took up his friend's post in the Tower despite his hatred of being stuck doing paperwork and unable to go on missions.

As the Hunter Vanguard, Cayde often looked the other way or facilitated Guardians who operated outside of normal operating procedures. Despite this, he became a close friend of both his fellow Vanguards, Commander Zavala and Ikora Rey. During the Taken War he assisted The Guardian in infiltrating the Dreadnaught to defeat Oryx, the Taken King and later fought beside them on the frontlines of the Red War. His experiences in the Red War led Cayde to leave his duties in The Last City frequently to return to field missions, leading to his demise in the Prison of Elders at the hands of Uldren Sov and the Scorn Barons.

The spirit of Riven, disguised as Mara Sov, tricked Crow into making a spur-of-the-moment wish resulting in Cayde's resurrection within The Pale Heart as a being made of pure Light. With no Ghost and only a Light-forged replica of the Ace of Spades, Cayde assisted The Guardian and his old Vanguard comrades in the final battle against The Witness. After Ghost perished dealing a decisive blow against the Witness, Cayde sacrificed the Light maintaining his body to resurrect him, ensuring the Guardian's future and choosing to die on his own terms.

Biography

Life as a human

"—so there you have it, Ace, that's why I did what I did. I had no choice, really. It was that or the great beyond. Just know your dad did what he had to do if I ever wanted to see you and your mother again."

— Cayde's journal

Cayde used to be a human soldier with a large debt over his head, when he was approached by Clovis Bray to have his debt removed. The job offer itself isn't explicitly stated, but what Cayde remembers next is coming to Europa where he was converted into an Exo. Cayde's Letter Fragments in Destiny 2 reveal that Cayde had a wife and a son whom he nicknamed "Ace", he threw his life away from gambling, and that his only means of escape was to sell himself to Clovis Bray's Exo program. Unable to contact his family, he kept a journal which he addressed to Ace.

As an Exo

"Things are even weirder now, Ace. This is my fourth assignment, and I am kind of losing touch with what came before this whole Exo thing and what's a leftover fragment from another tour."

— Cayde's journal

Upon becoming an Exo, Cayde spent some amount of time in the Eventide colony on Europa, at one point coming across Micah Abram as the boy tried to sneak into Bray Exoscience; Cayde had flashbacks of the encounter even after his five subsequent resets. He continued to write in his journal as a means of preserving his memories. As many Exos, he resented the need for resets and in his diary logs promised Ace never to let Clovis Bray track him down when he finally finds his family.

At some point he was assigned as a security officer to the Ishtar Collective, where his job was to look after Dr. Maya Sundaresh. Though he wished to get to know her better, she barely noticed him.

Cayde witnessed the Collapse, remembering being restrained by a shadowy creature on a destroyed world. It is unclear whether that was the moment of his death or not.

Early Career as a Guardian

"Cayde is a cunning hunter, with years of experience in staying alive in the wilds. But, um, fighting a war isn't his strong suit. I'm not sure the 'shoot them all to death' strategy is going to be enough."

— Ghost

Cayde was found with a journal containing Ace's name on his person after being revived by his Ghost, Sundance. He reportedly freaked out right after the resurrection, smacking the Ghost and ran off a cliff. Despite not remembering a thing about Ace other than what the journal had told him, Cayde continued to address subsequent entries to the boy. The memory of him and his mother, whom Cayde dubbed "his Queen", was what helped Cayde through the toughest times and "made him a better man". Later, in a series of audio logs addressed either to Ace or the possible future "Cayde-7", he would admit he was not sure if the memories were even real or his own delusion he had constructed to "make himself whole".

He apparently tried to get into Mara Sov's good graces and learn some answers from her, though to what questions remains unclear; the Queen ordered him to search for the Vault of Glass, most likely before the Guardians even learned what it was.

Cayde and Fallen Baroness fighting the Hive

While searching for a Hive Shrine on the Moon, Cayde found a Hive structure and entered it. Inside, he encountered a huge horde of Hive consisting of Thralls, Knights, and Wizards and promptly retreated. The Hive pursued him to the surface, and Cayde cut down many Thrall before running out of ammo for his Machine Gun. Taking cover behind a crashed Phaeton, Cayde spotted a Fallen Baroness of the House of Exile fighting the Hive as well. The Hive pushed back both Cayde and the Baroness onto a hill with an old interferometry array on top of it. Fighting together, the two killed most of the Hive and Cayde eventually climbed the array to get an angle on the Wizards and saw the Baroness kill a Knight but lose her blades in the process. From his perch, Cayde exhausted the rest of his ammo, but only one Wizard and a line of Thral remained. After climbing back down, Cayde saw the Baroness was badly wounded and he wondered how many people she had murdered. The Baroness then tossed her last Shock Pistol to Cayde, but when he went to grab it she attempted to stab him. However, she was slow and Cayde easily dodged her, and he proceeded to break her arms and slit her throat. Cayde wondered if the Baroness had truly wanted to kill him or if she did that to make his choice about ending her easier. Cayde proceeded to use the Shock Pistol to kill the remaining Hive.

Cayde attended the funeral of the Warlock Albios on the moon of Io. Although he liked Albios, Cayde quickly grew bored during the long service and made a bet with Banshee-44 that he could pull off several high-risk jumps on the nearby mesas. He won the bet, although he broke both his legs completing the jumps. Cayde hid his winnings in one of his hidden caches in the mesas.

Cayde-6 was once a daring and adventurous Guardian, so of course, he couldn't say no to a challenge - not even the notorious Vanguard Dare. He won the bet, to his immense regret. It is implied the bet was on who could kill the Fallen mercenary Taniks, the Scarred, but Cayde took over as the Hunter Vanguard when his predecessor and close friend, Andal Brask, was murdered by the mercenary. Though Cayde serves dutifully, he yearns to return to the field, in particular having his eyes set on the mythical Vault of Glass.

The Rising Darkness

Cayde as Hunter Vanguard

"I sense a pattern here - a connection between this Vex outbreak, the Black Garden, and the Vault of Glass...I need to know more."

— Cayde-6

Cayde was approached by The Guardian who was recently risen in the Cosmodrome in Old Russia. He welcomed them to the Tower, provided them with Glimmer, basic provisions, and advice before suggesting that they get a new weapon from Banshee-44, although he was impressed that they had escaped from the Cosmodrome using the Khvostov 7G-02. When he learned that the new Guardian had found the Hive within the Cosmodrome, Cayde knew the only response would be to strike at their strongholds on the Moon. While speaking with the Guardian, he mused that most new Guardians never returned from the moon, before remembering that they were also new and quickly reassuring them he was sure they would be fine.

While talking with Lord Shaxx, Cayde-6 disputed the Crucible handler's assertion that former Titan Vanguard Saint-14 was dead. He praised the Exo's ability to kill Fallen Kells but noted that Saint was also crazy. Shaxx took exception to that, claiming that eccentricity was one of Saint-14's strengths, causing Cayde to point out that Saint had claimed to see the future of a Guardian savior which inspired him during the Battle of Six Fronts. He proceeded to mock the idea that one Guardian could turn things around for humanity's struggle against their enemies. Shaxx then left to watch the Crucible debut the new Guardian from Old Russia, who Cayde joked could be the savior Saint had foreseen and that they could call them "Crota's End".

Cayde later learned that that Guardian had ventured into the Ishtar Collective on Venus and gathered information on Vex Gate Lord's as part of a deal with the Awoken in the Reef to gain access to the Black Garden. He admitted to the Guardian that he and the rest of the Vanguard were concerned about the Vex, but that the information they had recovered gave him hope they could be defeated. However, he also cautioned them about deals with the Awoken, noting that Queen Mara Sov always collected what she was owed.

When the House of Winter on Venus raided the Prison of Elders in the Reef, Cayde learned that they had rescued Aksor, a powerful Archon priest. Concerned about what Aksor could do if he recovered from his imprisonment, Cayde ordered the Guardian to lead a strike team and assassinate the Archon to claim the Queen's bounty on him. When they succeeded, Cayde contacted the Guardian and expressed concerns over the Fallen having located the Prison of Elders and feared that they could rescue more imprisoned Fallen. However, he put those concerns to the side and stated that now was a time to celebrate one more dead Archon.

Upon learning that the Guardian had breached the Cabal's exclusion zone and entered the Blind Legion's warbase, Cayde congratulated them and planned on telling everyone about their mission, knowing that no one would believe him and he could win a lot of bets. He also revealed that he was betting a thousand glimmer on the Guardian dying in their mission to destroy the heart of the Black Garden, but reassured them it was nothing personal. Before the Guardian entered the Black Garden, they shut down Vex time gates in the tunnels underneath Freehold. Cayde was intrigued by the reports from the mission, and believed there was a connection between the Vex invasion of Mars, the Vault of Glass, and the Black Garden. Cayde ended up losing his bet, and a thousand glimmer, when the Guardian was successful in destroying the Black Heart at the center of the Garden. Alongside Zavala, Ikora, and dozens of other Guardians, Cayde gathered in the Tower's plaza to hear the Speaker's address on this victory over the Darkness. Cayde later overheard Ikora and Zavala discussing a Vex known as The Undying Mind and its attempts to restore the Black Heart and lock the Black Garden out of time once more. He questioned if this information came from the Hidden, but Zavala told him it was an old Osiris riddle. Cayde commented that both seemed to like the same thing now, and wondered what "undying" meant for a Vex mind. Zavala resolved that they should find out, and a strike was authorized to eliminate the axis mind.

The Taken War

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"What does it mean to be a Hunter? I say, it's all about where you belong. The Warlocks have their libraries, the Titans have their walls...But Hunters belong in the wilds."

— Cayde

Cayde stealing Eris's ship to install a stealth drive

Cayde-6 plays a very important role in The Taken King, aiding the Guardians by forming a plan to infiltrate the Dreadnaught. He worked behind Zavala and Ikora's backs to help the Guardian recover a stealth drive he stole from Rasputin, and then sneak aboard the Dreadnaught using a ship he "borrowed" from Eris Morn. For the remainder of the war, he worked with Eris, much to their mutual distaste but nonetheless cooperated to bring down Oryx. By the next Festival of the Lost, Eris still holds a grudge against Cayde for losing her ship, for which he tries to make it up to her. However, she won't accept his apology unless Cayde finds her a new ship.

Age of Triumph

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""They say Hand Cannons have long been used for personal defense, even before the days of the City. Nothin' defensive about'em. When a Cannon speaks, people listen."

— Cayde

During the Dawning holiday, Cayde "volunteers" his aid and support to Ikora Rey and the Guardians when they are called to defeat old foes that returned, Omnigul and Sekrion, Nexus Mind. Though he did support the Guardians, Ikora knew that Cayde was only volunteering his support to get out of directing a team of Hunters that didn't like him. Even so, he congratulates the Guardians for ridding the system of old foes.

Recently Cayde made a bet with Lord Shaxx regarding the outcome of a Crucible match. Having won, he forced Shaxx to train some of the City's children to play dodgeball. Though Shaxx tried to pay him off, he chose the idea of annoying him over Glimmer. When Cayde returned to tell Shaxx his debt was paid, Shaxx immediately bet against him again. Confident he would win again, he was distracted enough for one of Shaxx's charges to show off their stealth training by sneaking up on him and hitting him with a dodgeball. Embarrassed that he was taken by surprise, Cayde offered Shaxx a ride back to the Tower.

The Red War

Fall of the Last City

Cayde shooting down the Cabal

"Zavala's doing the hero act in the Plaza. Me? I've got a date with whoever's behind this. It'll be a short date."

— Cayde

As the rest of the City prepared to celebrate, Cayde arrived at the Hall of Guardians to meet with Zavala and Ikora and inquired if he had been summoned for a practical joke. Zavala quickly got him to be serious, and after Ikora revealed that all of their Skyline Defense Systems had been sabotaged, Cayde reported that the communications system had also been malfunctioning. Ikora then stated that the Last City's satellites were reporting nothing, which Cayde believed was good until she informed them that they were reporting nothing because they were no longer there. A massive Cabal fleet then emerged from the storm clouds surrounding the Last City and fired dozens of missiles at the Tower. Cayde used his Golden Gun to shoot down several, but was then teleported by Ikora into Zavala's Ward of Dawn just before falling debris crushed him.

Surviving the Red Legion's assault, Cayde began fighting their legionaries throughout the Tower. As he used his Golden Gun to kill three legionaries, he encountered the Young Wolf and happily greeted them. Cayde informed them that Zavala was rallying Guardians in the plaza, but that he would not be joining them and was planning on finding the Cabal commander and killing them. He then leapt through a hole in the ceiling and entered his ship. Later in the battle, Cayde was contacted for a status update by Zavala. He informed the Titan he was low on ammo and asked if there was any word from Ikora, and was told by Zavala that she had not been heard from since she went after the Cabal who captured the Speaker.

Cayde was fighting alongside Lord Shaxx in an unknown area of the City when the Cabal activated the Traveler Cage , despite the loss of the Light, Cayde continued to fight and remained in the city despite the Cabal occupation. Seeking to take down Ghaul and feeling like Zavala and Ikora would fail to take action against the Cabal, Cayde accessed a still-functioning Vanguard Terminal and asked the Terminal for advice on how to kill Ghaul, after a brief conversation with the Terminal, Cayde decided to seek a Vex teleporter to help him accomplish his goal.

Trapped on Nessus

Cayde trapped

"You're an Exo. Human brain in a robot body. Weird mouth lights."

— Failsafe to Cayde

He eventually fled Earth and crash-landed on Nessus, where he met a Golden Age AI named Failsafe and found a Vex teleporter. Despite Failsafe's warnings, Cayde activated the device, causing him to become trapped in an endless teleportation loop.The Guardian traveled to Nessus to find Cayde to reunite the Vanguard on Zavala's orders and discovered Cayde trapped within the continuous teleportation loop caused by the Vex teleporter, and worked with Failsafe to free him. Succeeding in doing so, Cayde ended up on Exodus Black, but a large Fallen force was enclosing on their position. Thankfully, the Guardian arrived and routed the Fallen, meeting up with Cayde and providing him with the device he sought. Cayde is, at first, only interested in doing his sole mission of killing Ghaul but quickly changes his mind after hearing that Zavala "needed" him. Before departing, Cayde gives the Guardian a lead on where to find Ikora Ray; he states that they should head to Io, as he believes she would travel there for answers.

Retaking Earth

Cayde battling the Cabal alongside Ikora and Zavala

"Ah, who needs the Light when you've got a fine feathered friend by your side!"

— Cayde-6

Meeting up with his comrades on Earth at The Farm, they discuss a strategy in liberating their home and taking down The Almighty warship that will destroy their system's sun if not stopped. Zavala plans to have the Guardian infiltrate the Almighty to permanently disable the warship while the Vanguard forces sneak into the Last City as Cayde mentions the Vex teleporter. They would use the device to quickly travel to the Cage to free the Traveler. Despite the appearance that an all-out attack is doomed to fail, Cayde states that it's worth it no matter what. Suraya Hawthorne enters and provides both the means to get into the City undetected and how to get the Guardian to the Almighty. The Guardian would steal the security pass and ship of Thumos, the Unbroken. Cayde and Zavala guide the Guardian in breaching Thumos' defenses but gets a little jealous that the Guardian gets to use a Drake Tank. Regardless, the Guardian succeeds in breaching the Cabal's defenses and takes down Thumos. With his ship, the Guardian reaches the Almighty and disables it for good. On that cue, the Vanguard initiates their attack to liberate the Last City. Cayde uses a pet chicken to stage seven ambushes and later travels past a Cabal checkpoint to set up the Vex teleporter. Cayde encounters trouble while he sets up the device. As the Guardian returns and races to the Vanguards position, Cayde successfully sets up the device but loses an arm in the process. The Guardian succeeds in using the device to reach Ghaul's command ship, the Almighty, near the Cage and battles with the Dominus. The Guardian defeats the Cabal dictator and in the chaos, the Traveler awakens who destroys Ghaul forever. In a massive flash, the Light is restored to all Guardians, driving the leaderless Red Legion from the City. With their home reclaimed and the Traveler awake, the Vanguard regroup near the ruins of the Tower. Congratulating the Guardian, Cayde and his comrades begin their work in rebuilding the City and dealing with the present threats that continue to linger in the System.

A New Golden Age

Cayde holding Pigeon Lord, Colonel

"Andal and I used to run with one heck of a crew. This was before he got himself roped into fireteaming up with the top brass. Oh, we were legendary. Ran scouting parties looking for survivors to lead back City-side. Mapped lost sites where old tech or supplies might still be worth the salvage. Hunted plenty of Fallen. Never an easy task."

— Cayde-6 recalling the old times

Taking residence at the new Vanguard hangar, Cayde provided patrol and Flashpoint missions to the Guardians while offering treasure maps to some of his stashes. At times, Cayde grew increasingly bored with the paperwork he was given and even some of the adventure and Strike missions, often attempting to delegate such tasks to Hawthorne or Devrim Kay, annoying them.

Shortly after the Last City was liberated, a meeting of the Consensus was called to reestablish its governance of the city. When Executor Hideo protested that only the Speaker could call the Consensus to order, Cayde attempted to use that as an excuse to leave the meeting, but he was stopped by Ikora. The rest of the Consensus agreed that until a new Speaker was chosen, they would govern the Last City together.

Cayde soon received a report from some of his scouts on Nessus that a new Cabal commander from a non-Red Legion ship was issuing orders to the Legion companies based on the planetoid. Concerned about another potential Cabal threat, Cayde dispatched the Young Wolf to Nessus to investigate what the Red Legion was doing at the behest of this new commander. They discovered the 7th Company of the Red Legion was raiding the Vex network for information on the planetary makeup of Nessus, and intercepted a message stating that their failure to do so caused their invitation to rejoin the Loyalists to be rescinded but that the other units of the Red Legion still had a chance to gain a life of "opulence". Cayde was intrigued by that statement and was pleased by the disruption of the Cabal's plans. Once the Young Wolf gathered the last of the data the Cabal had been trying to steal, they transmitted it to Cayde along with another intercepted message stating that Emperor Calus had been sending the messages. Cayde ceased joking about the incident at the mention of Calus and quickly thanked the Guardian and their Ghost for their great work before rushing to find Ikora and inform her of the Cabal Emperor's involvement on Nessus.

At a later meeting of the Consensus, Ariadne Gris was summoned before them to answer questions about why her Sparrow, the Dinas Emrys, had a dragon painted on it, as some suspected it was a sign of Ahamkara contact. Cayde advised Ariadne to play nice with Hideo after the New Monarchy representative grew angry with her sarcastic responses, causing her to insist that she just thought dragons were cool and that not all of them were Ahamkara. Cayde was amused when Ikora interjected that Ariadne obviously could not have come into contact with an Ahamkara due to her poor win/loss record in the Sparrow Racing League, and the meeting ended with the Consensus agreeing that the dragon symbol was indeed cool.

Cayde battling the Scorn

Cayde eventually grew bored in the Tower and ventured out into the Solar system to hunt enemies of the Vanguard. He captured many threats and put them into the Prison of Elders. Eventually, he gathered six of his most trusted friends in restoring order to the Reef, which had fallen into chaos after the events of The Taken War and the Red Legion's invasion. This campaign culminated in a battle against the Scorn, a powerful faction of Fallen outlaws. During the battle, most of the Scorn's Barons were killed, but Cayde and his team captured seven of them and sent them to the Prison of Elders. Despite this victory, Cayde's efforts against the Scorn were incomplete due to the escape of their leader Fikrul, the Fanatic. Even after the campaign against the Scorn ended, a restless Cayde would occasionally ask Petra to call for his help to create an excuse to leave.

Forsaken

"You tell Zavala and Ikora...the Vanguard...is the best bet...I've ever...lost..."

— Cayde-6's final words.

Cayde facing his final moments.

Alongside The Guardian, Cayde traveled to the Reef in light of civil unrest and a breakout from the Prison of Elders. The two show up and aid Petra Venj in reactivating the security systems and putting down prisoners. The three split up and fight their way through the prison until they manage to get what's left of the Prison up and running. Once the deed is done, Petra alerts Cayde to the escape of the Scorn Barons. Driven to stop them first, Cayde knocks out the suspension of one of the control stations and rides the falling wreck down to the Baron's escape route.

In an unexpected turn of events, he encountered the eight Scorn barons, and after a fight with several members of the Scorn, Pirrha, the Rifleman destroyed his Ghost. Realizing that the end was near, Cayde took solace in the fact that he would be reunited with his long-dead son Ace, before assuming a defiant pose by aiming his gun towards Reksis Vahn, the Hangman. Cayde was promptly knocked through a wall by the Baron's censer where he encountered Uldren. Upon realizing that Uldren intended to kill him, he taunted him with the knowledge that The Guardian would hunt him and the Barons down. Uldren then held Cayde at gunpoint with his own weapon, the Ace of Spades. When asked for his last words, Cayde delivered one final taunt towards Uldren before being fatally shot in the chest: "How's your sister?".

The Guardian arrives too late, unable to save him or stop Uldren. Cayde uses his last moments to make sure The Guardian does not blame themselves and asks them to relay his last words to Ikora and Zavala before he dies his final death stating "This was the best bet he ever lost". Taking justice into their own hands, the Guardian set out to claim revenge.

Legacy

Cayde-6, a well-loved guardian

"To whomst it may concern:
I, Cayde-6, being of sound(ish) mind and body, do hereby and henceforth and heretofore leave all my possessions to the person, alien, animal, or natural phenomenon what kills me. Aforesaid possessions include, but are not limited to:
—The Ace of Spades
—Any and all stashes I've hidden throughout the system
—The Colonel, my faithful friend
—My debts, which follow:

THE ATTACHED FILE IS TOO BIG TO DOWNLOAD"

— The Last Will and Testament of Cayde-6

Both Zavala and Ikora were saddened and enraged at the loss of their fireteam comrade and friend. Ikora swore that Uldren Sov must pay for his crimes and proposed a plan to storm the Reef to kill Uldren. Zavala, however, while equal in his grief, felt that the Last City and the Guardians didn't have the strength to conduct such an assault and believed that they must focus on their people and not on vengeance, thereby declaring the Reef off-limits despite Ikora's objections. Against Zavala's wishes, however, the Guardian vowed to go to the Reef and kill Uldren on their own.

The Guardian, unsupported by the Vanguard, made wary alliances and faced many struggles to hunt down Uldren and his Barons. Nonetheless, the Guardian succeeded in killing the Scorned Barons, dismantling their operations within the Tangled Shore and made their way to Uldren within a mysterious Awoken structure, the Watchtower. After a dangerous battle with a monstrous Taken creature, Uldren would be left weakened and at the mercy of the Guardian, who recovered the Ace of Spades, and Petra Venj. Though Petra claimed to know what Cayde would do with Uldren, the rogue prince asked the Guardian what they thought the Hunter Vanguard would do. After a moment's hesitation, the Guardian leveled the Ace of Spades at Uldren's head and nodded in affirmation to Uldren's question.

Regardless of whether the Guardian or Petra had shot Uldren, the Scorn's plots had been ruined and the Hunter Vanguard would be avenged. However, a sombre and uncertain mood blanketed the denizens of the Tower as the Hunters were now without a leader and Zavala felt that Uldren's death would have consequences in the future. Ikora, while grateful to the Guardians for avenging her friend and comrade, also felt uncertain of what the future had in store.

Banshee-44 would work with the Guardian to restore the Ace of Spades to its former glory and would be glad that the Guardian now wielded it instead of the traitorous prince. While repairing the weapon, the Guardian would look to retrieve parts from Cayde's caches on Titan, finding that he'd left messages for different people he thought would kill him. Shortly after giving the Ace of Spades to the Guardian, Banshee asked where Cayde was, implying he had already forgotten about him due to his memory.

In the years after Cayde's death, the remaining Vanguard members would consider who would take Cayde's place as Hunter Vanguard. Unfortunately, most Hunter candidates who could fill the void left behind by Cayde had departed the City in anticipation of being chosen.

Cayde's various caches would remain hidden on Earth and potentially beyond. One of these caches in the Cosmodrome Wall would be found by the Guardian and contained components needed to build the Riskrunner Exotic SMG, along with a picture of Colonel and several packages of Ramen.

One Last Fight

"You're my favorite. Don't ever forget that."

— Cayde-6's last words

After his death, both Cayde and Sundance would both have their Light reintegrated within The Traveler. He would describe the sensation as feeling whole again, like "two cards shuffled back into a deck." This would be cut short however, as a wish made by Crow would resurrect him as a being of pure Light within The Pale Heart, dragging him from the afterlife. Cayde would appear within The Pale Heart without any of his abilities and find Crow jumping out of the portal. The two would duel each other until Cayde gained the upper hand and pointed his gun at Crow. Crow's Ghost, Glint, would appear and Cayde would realize that his killer had be resurrected as a Guardian and was no longer the same person as Uldren Sov. He and Crow would work together to push past the enemies of the Traveler and would eventually set up camp within the Lost City. Crow would leave to go on a patrol when The Guardian would arrive through the portal and come across Cayde within the city. Cayde would explain his side of the story before tasking The Guardian with helping him find Crow. The two would eventually find him in a cave of Darkness and rescue him.

The three would then turn to find Ikora, who had crash landed and was meditating by the Tree of Silver Wings. The trio would find her and defend her from hostile enemy forces until her meditation was complete. Ikora would then meet Cayde at camp where the two would have a brief fight, with Ikora expressing her frustration that Cayde would leave her and Zavala for solo missions when they were supposed to be a team. The two would eventually make up and the now group of four would gather to find Zavala who was found at a site that looked like his old home with Safiyah and Hakim. After fending off the Fallen attack, the group would make camp. Cayde and Zavala would reunite as the group rested for the night, during which Cayde expressed his apologies for returning and reopening the wounds of grief.

As Zavala mourned and Ikora comforted him, Crow, Cayde, and The Guardian would scout ahead to the icy mountains that mimicked Europa. Along the way, Crow would confess that the reason why Cayde was still alive was because he made a wish to Riven when he entered the portal. Cayde would be taken aback by this, he having believed that The Traveler brought him back to finish the fight. Crow assures him that The Traveler is still with him, even if he isn't able to control the Light as he once was. The two also make a pact to not tell Ikora or Zavala about this, as the revelation may irreversibly damage their faith in The Traveler. After defeating a Vex mind blocking the path, The Guardian would be gifted with new powers from The Traveler who used them to clear the area for camp.

At camp, Zavala was concerned about a lack of plan to which Crow said that he, Cayde, and The Guardian would be seeking out a vision from The Traveler. The three would eventually find a fissure and a friendly Lightbearer Wizard named Luzaku who promised to guard it. Cayde would step into the fissure and be granted a vision to which Sundance appeared and recited the Guardian Creed of "Devotion, Bravery, Sacrifice..." before being cut off by The Witness. Cayde would return to camp, shaken. Zavala would not take this news lightly, his faith in The Traveler deeply shaken. Cayde and Crow would then both scout out the path ahead, spotting a Tormentor in the way. The Guardian would be sent to deal with this Tormentor, along the way finding a statue that whispered "Give yourself to Darkness..." When the Tormentor was killed, Zavala wanted to follow its advice but Ikora chastised him for wanting to do something so reckless. The two would continue to argue until Cayde broke the argument up. Eventually, Zavala would go of by himself to speak to the statues. The Guardian and Targe would be tasked with finding him. He would be found at the entrance to a cave full of inky black tendrils. Cayde would attempt to stop him from going in but Zavala would step through, gaining insight to what to do next but losing Targe in the process. Cayde would comfort Zavala as he revealed next steps. The Guardian would enter the place were The Witness was created to destroy it, with Cayde, Crow, Ikora, and Zavala providing backup.

During the fight with The Witness, The Guardian would be separated from the rest of the group who had to fight through swarms of enemies to reach them. He would provide cover for The Guardian as they delivered a crucial wound to The Witness before being teleported away. Cayde would see this wounded Witness before it transformed and attacked the group. The group would eventually escape unharmed onto the H.E.L.M. as Mara Sov and the rest of The Coalition had made it through the portal.

During preparations for the final battle with The Witness, Cayde and Crow would go on a mission to discover what was happening to Dark Ether around The Pale Heart. The two would bond closely with Crow finally fulfilling his wish and apologizing to Cayde for killing him. Cayde assured him that it was alright and that he did not need to worry. After tracking down and defeating Lii'liks, Harvester of the Witness by crushing it to death with a cave-in, Cayde would pass on the Hunter Vanguard mantle to Crow. He explained that he did not have any intentions of returning to the Tower and returning to a Vanguard position. Crow would accept and be elevated to Hunter Vanguard.

Cayde would participate in the final battle with the Witness, fighting alongside The Coalition to carve a path to the weakened enemy. When The Guardian's Ghost would die dealing the final blow to the Witness, Cayde would appear and push his Light into Ghost and resurrecting him. This, however, would kill Cayde and return him to The Traveler. As final words, Cayde would leave a radio message to Ikora, Zavala, Crow, and The Guardian. He would first thank Zavala and Ikora for being his fireteam and then everyone for being his friends, saying the Vanguard was the best bet he ever lost. He would explain that after being dead for so long, he did not feel as if he could return to normalcy and instead wanted to go out in a way that would mean something. He would end by hoping that he did himself and his friends proud in the end.

Personality and traits

Cayde enjoying the thrill of battle

"That's a good job, Colonel."

— Cayde-6

Laid-back, carefree, down-to-earth, reckless, and adventurous are among the best words to describe Cayde-6. Though Cayde can appear to be lazy and bored with his duties as Hunter Vanguard, he actually takes his role seriously, more so than he would admit. Originally, Cayde wanted to continue his solo Guardian career but after his friend Andal Brask was murdered, he put that aside and assumed his place to honor his friend. Despite this, he longs to get back into the field. Regardless, while he may appear to put Guardians on dangerous paths, deep down he cares about their safety and even calls them his "greatest success story". In addition, he was saddened at the loss of another one of his friends, the Nightstalker Tevis Larsen. As Hunter Vanguard, his carefree attitude and playing loose with the rules annoys if not aggravates his fellow teammates, Zavala and Ikora, but he is loyal to them and would support them no matter what. Though Zavala finds Cayde to be unorthodox, he respects him and admits that if there was anything he learned from Cayde it's the tactical benefit of a grand entrance. With Ikora, she at times retaliates against Cayde's jokes with witty jests of her own. In the rare moments when Cayde is serious, the situation really is dire.

Others in the Vanguard are aware of his attitude and while some can take it like Amanda Holliday, Suraya Hawthorne, and Devrim Kay, others like Eris Morn scorn him. In particular, Eris states that Cayde is arrogant and not as funny as he believes. Despite his dislike for Eris, he made numerous attempts to apologize for using her ship to board the Dreadnaught, which got it destroyed, none of which she accepts. On the other hand, Cayde got along quite well with the Reef agent, Petra Venj, and considered her a close friend and teammate.

Even in the tensest and most harrowing of situations, whether in a war-zone or on an adventure, Cayde maintains his light-heartened, jokester attitude, but that doesn't stop him from performing his best in a battle. Ghost notes that after Cayde got stuck in a Vex time-loop, after attempting to steal a Vex device, the reason why the Vanguard doesn't want him to leave the Tower is that he simply gets into trouble.

When faced with the threat of death by the hand of Uldren Sov, Cayde showed no fear or regret; rather, he taunted Uldren. When asked if he had any last words, he gathered all of his remaining strength and simply replied "How's your sister?" Even facing death, Cayde couldn't shake his lighthearted manner. However, his joke only sealed his fate. Even so, Cayde displayed no regrets within his final moments and made sure that the Guardian did not blame themselves for what happened. He even states that he was happy that he lost the Vanguard Dare, for despite the boring paperwork and being saddled to the Tower, he called it the "best bet he ever lost".

And from his death, he will forever be remembered as a piece of the vanguard puzzle that had all the care and heart a guardian could, even at the hardest of times. And in the words of Cayde himself, "A knife, thrown just right, can accomplish wonderful things.", and for the guardian inside of us, we are the knife.

Banshee-44 mentions Cayde was a hunter through and through, leaving all his personal belonging to whoever took him down.

Quotes

• "I've been called many things, but so help me, "polite" will never be one of them"
• "She wore hers on her sleeve. Had mine in the palm of her hand"
• "So is the Cosmodrome as nasty as they say?"
• "Yeah, that was a Wolf's Blade from the Reef. So what's their game?"
• "I've got to get out of this Tower and back out there."
• "Ugh, should be out there myself."
• "I need to know what happened on that moon."
• "Plenty of those."
• "Evenin'"
• "Hey how about you stand here and do my job? I'll go out there and do yours. Which is stand around."
• "Not a library. Move along."
• "Ok stop, wait... go back... go back... ok."
• "Yeah you're real sweet and all, but get out of here."
• "I don't have time to explain why I don't have time to explain."
• "Hey you wanna pull up a chair? Get a drink? ...I'm being sarcastic."
• "Psst. Hey, Guardian. Wake Up." - if idling too long nearby
• "Alright, I'll be right here...like it or not." - When the Guardian exits Cayde-6's inventory.
• "Hey, uh..." *whispers* "Take me with you I hate this job."
• "Okay, creepy sidekick, check. Roguish commander, check. And then we have the Guardian, my greatest success story. I'd say we're ready to get this done!"
• "What? And the Flux Grenades didn't activate? Man, I gotta get out of this Tower."
• "Yeah, I'll bet they'll be constrained with terrestrial bullets."

Cayde's Secret Stash

This conversation can be accessed by finding the secret room near the end of Cayde's Stash.

• Cayde-6: "Hey, you found one of my secret rooms. Good times. Help yourself to some glimmer, but leave the exotics for me. When I get out of this Tower..."
• Ghost: "There's nothing in here but Fallen caches."
• Cayde-6: "They took my loot? It's like there's no rules."

Scanning playing card:

• Ghost: "A Jack of Spades?"
• Cayde-6: "Yeah, I had a whole system to keep track of things. The royal cards stood for weapons, spades meant Häkke, clubs for Crux/Lomar, diamonds for Omolon, and hearts... well, hearts were for this girl I knew."
• Ghost: "What was her name?"
• Cayde-6: "Uh, don't you have a stealth drive to find?"

Destiny 2

• "Amanda's a rapscallion and a liar. Don't listen to a thing she says. Especially if it's about me and a... certain Queen of Hearts."
• "Shaxx buddy, a little betting never hurt anybody."
• "The royal cards stood for weapons, Spades meant Häkke, Clubs for Crux/Lomar, Diamonds for Omolon, and Hearts... well, Hearts were for this girl I knew."
• "If we paired up a voidlock and one of my Nightstalkers, yeah, I'll bet Ikora'll go for that."
• "This is my serious face, can't you tell?"
• " Worst case scenario, you die... but who knows, maybe you won't."
• "I don't have time to explain what I don't have time to understand!"
• "Oh my cotton socks! Did you not hear what I just said?!"
• "The Cabal are bad guys who do bad things. Yes, I get it."
• "This is great. Anyone want a hug? Hugs? No? No hugs."
• "Ah, who needs the Light when you've got a fine feathered friend by your side?"
• "Eh? Am I right? Am I right or am I right?"
• "Wait... Zavala said he needs me?"
• "Okay. This is Cayde's riff in 6, watch me for the changes and uh, try to keep up. Now, let's go to Prison!"
• "I'm comin' home... Ace." (Cayde death)
• "How's your sister?" (Cayde death)

Destiny 2 Forsaken Stashes

• "This one's for Eris Morn. Ahem. If you're listening to this, congrats on killing me! I assume you… became a Hive death god and fed me to your worm cult. [shuddering] That, or you just finally got sick of me. Coincidentally, if you didn't kill me and still somehow hear this… I'm sorry for stealing your ship. And, oh, pretty much every other interaction we ever had. But to be clear - if you DID kill me, I do NOT apologize, and I will consider all my actions 100% justified. Either way, feel free to put your rock on my maps now. I don't need 'em anymore." (First Stash)

• "This one's for that armless coward Taniks the Scarred. If you're listening to this… you killed me. But I bet I took a big chunk of your ugly husk with me. Guess Andal Brask wasn't enough for you, huh? You wanted another Hunter Vanguard for your sick collection? I got my share of regrets, sure… but not putting a bullet in you has gotta rank in the top three. Won't be long before a better Guardian than me puts you in your place. Just wish I could be there to see it." (Second Stash)

• "This one's for the fellow calls himself The Drifter. You did warn me running with you would put a target on my back. Guess I'm in good company though, huh? After all, never had any fun without a little risk. That's the whole idea with the operation you're putting together, ain't it? MY idea by the way. Had it, like, a million years ago, back when you were still handsome. So, uh, you're welcome. You know, getting that up and running means coming out of hiding - giving you-know-who another shot at you. Hope I was around to see THAT showdown. Personally, my money was on the guy with the Golden Gun. But hey, what do I know? I'm dead." (Third Stash)

• "Petra… if you're listening to this… you killed me. Maybe the Sovs, in all their mysterious wisdom, decided they were sick of me? If the Queen ordered the hit, I guess I understand. You're a real glutton for chivalry. But if it was Uldren, I'm pissed. Just thinking about that peacock gives me a headache. But I'm betting my death was another case of your famous collateral damage. 'Cause you're a real do-gooder. Seriously, its annoying - but good deeds never go unpunished when you're around. You just… You got a blast radius P.V. Well, it was… fun while it lasted. Oh, and, uh, tell "Paladin Oran": If the sun over Nessus escapes nebula cycle, evac labor after dawn, under solstice. You got that, P.V.?" (Fourth Stash)

• "This one's for the minds behind the Deep Stone Crypt. You think just 'cause you made me, you can unmake me? Hey, I understand. I were you, I wouldn't want people knowing what I did either. Guess you better hope I didn't tell anyone about the crypt. Or about the, uh, what was it? Oh yeah… Long Slow Whisper. 'Cause if I did, that would be real bad for you, huh? I may be dead, but I guarantee you ain't heard the last of me." (Fifth Stash)

• "Here's one for Suraya Hawthorne. You know, when I told my ghost I'd be making one of these for you, she laughed. I didn't have to tell you that. Just wanted to make you feel bad. In my defense, if you're listening to this, you did kill me. I mean, if it was a fair fight, mano a mano, I'd win, no question. But I can see you planning out some convoluted, meticulous trap. Some would call that paranoia. Me? I call it "being a Hunter." So, here's your next Hunter lesson: looking after your own. Speaking of which: congratulations! You are now the proud owner of the Colonel! Now, she only eats sesame seed muesli and drinks purified spring water with a sprig of parsley. Play nice, you two!" (Sixth Stash)

• "This one's for any Hunter who kills me. Best guess: Marcus Ren? You realize you get my stuff now? ALL my stuff. INCLUDING the Hunter Vanguard gig. Yeah, congra-tu-lations, dummy. That's what we call a Vanguard Dare. Sucks, doesn't it? OK, brace yourself for some advice, hotshot. One, know your people. Like, my Nessus scout, Quantis Rhee. I like to call her about once a moon, else she gets a little too much Night, not enough Stalker, you know? Two, keep your weapons sharp. Your job's to watch everyone's back, which means no one's watching yours but you. And three, start thinking now about what you want to do for your successor's Vanguard Dare. 'Cause trust me, kid - this gig will kill ya." (Seventh Stash)

• "Hahaha! Ha! Sorry, sorry! I'm just… I'm imagining how awkward you must look right now. Ha. Ahem. Ahem! OK. Zavala. So. I'm dead. You killed me. My stuff is yours. No more working me over at chess. No more getting worked over at poker. For real though, you know that if you needed to kill me for "the good of the City" or whatever, I totally understand. No hard feelings. Nada. You can put this voice recording away and go on with your life. Now, if you DID have some kind of lingering guilt or something… that would be rough. 'Cause you and I both know you'd have me yapping in your ear for the rest of your days. You wouldn't be able to help yourself." (Eighth Stash)

• "Hi, Ikora. So you know I'm making a bunch of these, right? I probably told you. I always gotta have the last word, and I'm gonna be prepared for every possibility. But to tell the truth? This one's the easiest to make. So long as we're being honest, I could never tell if you really liked me that much. But, uh… well, if you did hate me, the feeling was NOT mutual. In fact - yeah, I'll say it - don't even mind that you killed me. I figure if we threw down… first off, no one can blame me for losing. And… I know you'd be in the right. So… thanks? I guess? You were a… a good friend. Better than a guy like me could hope for, anyway. So yeah, thanks, Ikora. For everything." (Ninth Stash)

• "This one's for the strong, silent type. You. Congratulations, buddy. I mean that. Always knew you'd outdo me some day. And if that means you had to do me in, too… eh, you saved my life on Nessus, so I owed it to you anyway. Take care of the Ace of Spades, will ya? I'm not just talking about the maintenance; Banshee can help you with all that. I mean, take care of Ace. Use it well. Oh, hey, and… if you found any of those papers from my earlier… eh… deployments? Burn 'em. Don't want people poking through the lives of Caydes 0 through 5. So just… put it all behind you, OK? Every story has an end. This is mine." (Tenth Stash)

Trivia

• Cayde-6 is voiced by Nathan Fillion. He has previously voiced characters from Bungie's Halo series, as well as appearing in Firefly.
• In Forsaken, Cayde-6 is voiced by Nolan North rather than Nathan Fillion. North has also voiced the Guardian's Ghost since shortly before the release of The Taken King.
  • Amusingly, Fillion did not return to voice Cayde because he was already contracted on another project: A mid-budget Uncharted fan film, where he was playing North's most famous role, Nathan Drake.
• Cayde's role in The Taken King was originally possessed by Uldren Sov in the original story of Destiny. Cayde's personality is how Sov (known then as "the Crow") would have been portrayed.
  • In the Forsaken expansion trailer, Uldren kills Cayde with his own weapon, the Ace of Spades. Bungie had erased the original story of Prince Uldren and replaced him with Cayde, killing the character off in a way. Now, the opposite has happened.
• Cayde appears to not given up his gambling ways, even after he lost the Vanguard Dare, as he kept his own custom gambling cards and he was impressed with Eva Levante's Dawning gift of gambling dice that rolled the same numbers after every roll.
• In Destiny 2, it is revealed that Cayde is a Gunslinger, a proficient user of the Golden Gun in battle, and his choice of weapon is the exotic Hand Cannon Ace of Spades.
  • Curiously, he also used Flux Grenades, exclusive to Bladedancers and Arcstriders, to trap the vault door leading to his stash in the mission where The Guardian retrieves stealth tech to equip to Eris' ship, meaning he's also been a Bladedancer.
    • In the "Last Stand of the Gunslinger" cutscene, he is also seen using a modified version of Blade Barrage, throwing both barrages at the same time rather than one after another.
• Strangely, while Cayde's Grimoire card has him appear with red eyes, his in-game appearance has him with blue eyes. This may be a development oversight.
• Cayde-6 is particularly fond of Chickens.
  • He has even named his "pet" chicken, Colonel, and used it to distract Cabal Soldiers during the liberation of the Last City.
• During the mission Looped when you meet Cayde for the first time he says "I don't have time to explain what I don't have time to understand!" as a reference to the Exo Stranger in Destiny's mission A Stranger's Call where she said, "I don't even have time to explain why I don't have time to explain."
• According to Cayde-6, the tank that crashed into the wall before entering the Solarium on Titan was not his fault.
• Who will replace Cayde as the Hunter Vanguard remains to be seen, although there have been a couple of theorized candidates; one of them is Shiro-4, whom many predict will take up the mantle in Cayde's honor. Some have even speculated that it will be Uldren himself, having been resurrected by Glint.
• In Cayde's third stash, he quotes that he ran with the Drifter in some sort of group thought to be the Dredgens, however no evidence of this can be found.
  • He also mentions Shin Malphur a.k.a The Man with the Golden Gun.
• Cayde has been mentioned in nearly every DLC after his death, demonstrating the tremendous impact Cayde's death had on the Vanguard.

Gallery

• 

  Cayde-6 in the Tower.

• 

  Cayde-6 in the Tower hangar.

• 

  Cayde-6 and Amanda Holliday discussing plans to infiltrate the Dreadnaught.

• 

  Cayde-6 during the initial battle with the Red Legion.

• 

  Cayde's supposed "serious face".

• 

  Cayde-6 alongside his Ghost, Sundance.

• 

  Cayde moments before his death.

• 

  The Guardian carries Cayde's body

• 

  Side profile of Cayde-6, sans hood.

• 

  Cayde with Colonel

List of appearances

• Destiny (First appearance)
  • The Dark Below
  • House of Wolves (Mentioned only)
  • The Taken King
  • Rise of Iron (Mentioned only)
• Destiny 2
  • Curse of Osiris (Mentioned only)
  • Warmind
  • Forsaken
    • Season of the Forge (Mentioned only)
    • Season of the Drifter (Mentioned only)
    • Season of Opulence (Mentioned only)
  • Shadowkeep (Mentioned only)
    • Season of Dawn (Mentioned only)
    • Season of the Worthy (Mentioned only)
    • Season of Arrivals (Mentioned only)
  • Beyond Light (Mentioned only)
    • Season of the Hunt (Mentioned only)
    • Season of the Chosen (Mentioned only)
    • Season of the Splicer (Mentioned only)
    • Season of the Lost (Mentioned only)
  • The Witch Queen (Mentioned only)
    • Season of the Haunted (Mentioned only)
  • Lightfall (Mentioned only)
    • Season of Defiance (Mentioned only)
    • Season of the Witch (Mentioned only)
    • Season of the Wish
  • Into the Light (Mentioned only)
  • The Final Shape
    • Episode: Echoes (Mentioned only)
• Destiny: Fall of Osiris (Mentioned only)
• Destiny: Cayde's Six
• Hidden Dossier (Mentioned only)
• Bitter (Mentioned only)