Leviathan (ship)

Leviathan
Production information
Manufacturer:	Cabal
Technical specifications
Armament:	Planet Consumption Device
Crew:	Loyalist Cabal
Usage
Role(s):	World-Eater
Affiliation:	Emperor Calus

This article is about the personal ship of Emperor Calus. For the ancient creature found on Fundament, see Leviathan (creature).

"This vessel will challenge you in ways you never dreamed. Let's enjoy ourselves."

— Emperor Calus

The Leviathan is a massive Cabal space vessel that serves as the personal pleasure craft of the exiled Emperor Calus and his Loyalists.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4] It is the site of the Leviathan Raid, as well as the Leviathan, Eater of Worlds and Leviathan, Spire of Stars Raid Lairs. The former takes place exclusively within the palace atop the ship, whereas the latter take place deep within its interior and around the tower situated on the top of the ship, respectively.

Overview

The Leviathan is a gigantic spaceship that is 400,000 miles long and 360,000 miles wide, which is used by the Loyalists to eat planets and process them into a thick, purple "royal wine". When a desired object is targeted, Cabal soldiers are sent to gather data on its geology to find out how to grind it up. The resulting rubble would be refined and mixed with "royal nectar" to produce the royal wine for Calus's consumption. A large palace where Emperor Calus and his servants reside stands on the head of the ship, and two small, artificial suns hover in place above the highest tower.

Emperor Calus claims that The Leviathan represents a mythical beast from "the dreams of worms" ^[5], whether he is referring to the Leviathan from Fundament or not is unknown. However, Drifter also makes a reference to The Leviathan in the Warden of Nothing strike, saying "The Cabal seat of power is over Nessus. In a giant fish". Given that Leviathan was a massive intelligent creature that resided deep within the ocean of Fundament, Emperor Calus' claim might be true, but it still remains unknown.

The Leviathan is formidably armed, carrying 200 million laser weapons and fusion missiles powerful enough to destroy Cabal warships in a single direct hit. These weapons use an unusual, immersive targeting system that may involve psionics. The ship also has a massive docking bay under the ship to carry hundreds of thousands of ships. The ship also has many internal weapon systems to destroy ships that enter.

History

On the night of the coup that deposed him, Emperor Calus was arrested and quietly ushered aboard The Leviathan, where Dominus Ghaul and his co-conspirators intended him to remain in exile in perpetuity. The Leviathan's navigation system was locked onto a course that would take it far from the Cabal Empire's domain. After many centuries, the system failed and the ship progressed no further; it had come upon a great expanse of nothingness, and could not plot a course through a place that did not exist. It was here that Calus claimed to have encountered something that overawed him, potentially the Darkness itself, and resolved to become its herald. With the navigation system unlocked, Calus charted a course back to Cabal territory, collecting Shadows from various alien races along the way to enact his revenge against his usurpers.

Following Dominus Ghaul's death during the Red War, The Leviathan arrived in the Solar System and began consuming the planetoid Nessus.

Some time after The Leviathan began consuming Nessus, it sucked up a powerful Vex mind: Argos, Planetary Core, which projected a shield to protect itself, while simultaneously clogging The Leviathan. The Vex mind was only removed through the intervention of a Guardian fireteam. After the death of Xol, Will of the Thousands, the Red Legion, led by Val Ca'uor, attempted to take control of The Leviathan for Red Legion use and kill Emperor Calus, only to be stopped by a fireteam of Guardians.

Locations

Unlike previous raid locations, areas within The Leviathan are not given unique names as they load in. However, as with locations within a Crucible map, certain rooms and areas have a unique name that is displayed beneath the player radar.

Embarkment
Castellum
Royal Pools
Pleasure Gardens
The Gauntlet
Throne
Aqueduct
Armory
Conduit
Drain
Engine
Inner Chamber
Irrigation
Pipeline
Transfer
Ventilator
Reactor Room
Statue Gardens
Power Conduit
Celestial Observatory

Activities

Raid

Leviathan

Raid Lair

Crucible

Emperor's Respite

Trivia

The name of this ship is a reference to a creature in The Bible called the Leviathan, which is a creature of enormous size.
One idea for the Leviathan's origin, according to artist Dorje Bellbrook, was that the ship was inspired by creatures native to Calus' homeworld resembling large "land whales" that would travel along the ground and swallow anything caught in their path.^[6] It is unknown whether this is canon information or not, though similar-looking creatures feature prominently in Calus's heraldry and architecture.
The Leviathan is the first Raid location featuring multiple, separate Raid activities.