A
- Acolytes of Nezarec - A cultist group that worships Nezarec.
- Aiat – A word frequently used by the Hive and ceremoniously uttered in either a prayer or exultation, meaning that which is true has been proven true.
- Anthem Anatheme - A paracasual ability to subjectively manipulate reality into whatever one may desire, usually takes the form of the phrase "O/Oh (subject) mine" while addressing other beings. Used mainly by Ahamkara.
- Arc - An aspect of Light related to motion.
- Archon - A Fallen rank that is capable of communing with the Prime Servitors.
- Ascendant – A state of apotheosis within the Ascendant Realm, allows one to transcend physical death in the real universe into a throne world of their creation. Can only be granted to followers of the Sword logic having killed powerful beings, with some exceptions.
B
- Baron - A rank of Fallen capable of leading its underlings in battle.
- Battle of Burning Lake - An event where Guardians discovered a Hive presence on Earth.
- Battle of the Twilight Gap - A conflict that took place in Twilight Gap between the Guardians and the Fallen united under the House of Devils, House of Winter, and House of Kings.
- Battlesong - A Hive chant used by Xivu Arath to strengthen her brood and weaken her enemies.
- Black Fleet - An armada of Pyramids commanded by the Witness.
- Black Heart - A failed replica of the Veil constructed by the Sol Divisive and guarded by the Sol Progeny.
- Blight - A substance of void-like Dark Matter that is part of the Taken.
- Bomb Logic - A philosophy of the Light and the antithesis of Sword Logic first mentioned by Mara Sov which is associated with complexity rather than the Sword Logic's simplicity.
- Bombardment - A name of the Dark Future event where the Fallen, Hive, Cabal and Dark Guardians attacked Earth simultaneously and destroyed the Last City and most of its defenders.
- Bracus - A Cabal rank equivalent to a sargeant.
C
- Cabal Oil – A multi-purpose hydrostatic organogel used in Cabal technology.
- Champion – A special class of enemy that can be identified by their red, tendril-like growths and dark coloration.
- City Age - A period in which it begins once the construction of the Last City is complete.
- Cloud Strider - A pair of cybernetically-enhanced warriors that defend the citizens of Neomuna and the CloudArk up to 10 years.
- Collapse – A cataclysm event in human history that nearly brought the species to an extinction.
- Concordat - The faction that attempted to overthrow the Consensus during the Faction Wars, led by Lysander.
- Consensus - The governing body of the Last City before the factions left the Last City following the Endless Night.
- Corsair - Awoken soldiers that protect the Reef.
- Crimson Days - An event celebrated in the Last City, inspired by Valentine's Day.
- Cryptolith - Hive artifacts used by Xivu Arath to corrupt individuals to become a Wrathborn.
D
- Dark Age – The period in human history that followed the Collapse, where humanity struggled to survive in the wilderness and suffered from infighting and alien attacks.
- Dark Ether –A corrupted version of Ether that has life-giving properties to create the Scorn from deceased Fallen. Used by Fikrul, the Fanatic.
- Darkness – A cosmic paracausal force that affects the mental world and has existed since before the beginning of time that is antithesis to the Light and seeks destruction of those that cannot survive.
- Dead Orbit - The faction that believes the exodus from Earth is inevitable, led by Arach Jalaal.
- Deathsong – A Hive spell that can range from annihilating a target out of existence or rending entire worlds apart. Utilized by Deathsingers only.
- Deck of Whispers - A deck of tarot-lite cards created as a result of Eris Morn's ascension into the Hive God of Vengeance.
- Deep - A term used by the Hive to refer to entities connected to the Darkness.
- Deepsight - An aspect of the Darkness used to reveal echoes of past events, and enable weapon crafting.
- Disciples of the Witness - A group of powerful individuals that serve the will of the Witness and assist it in achieving the Final Shape.
- Dominus - A Cabal rank equivalent to a commander-in-chief, held by Ghaul prior to his death.
E
- Egregore - A form of fungus capable of traveling between dimensions.
- Emperor/Empress - The ruler of the Cabal Empire.
- Endless Night - An event where that Vanguard allies with Mithrax, Kell of the House of Light, to dispel a Vex simulation that threatened the Last City.
- Era of Conquest - A period in Cabal history where they would begin their campaign of conquest across the galaxy.
- Era of Lead - A period in Cabal history that predates their campaign of conquest across the galaxy.
- Ether – The life-giving and hormonal substance of the Fallen where their former home planet Riis overflowed with it until they became nomads and used Servitors to make more.
- Eversion Day - An event celebrated by the Hive to commemorate the Dreadnaught's construction.
- Exo – War machines created by Clovis Bray I to achieve immortality by transferring human consciousness to new bodies by combining Radiolara with "Clarity".
F
- Faction Wars - A conflict between the Concordat, Dead Orbit, and New Monarchy during the early days of the Last City.
- Fall of Torobatl - An event in Cabal history where the Cabal home planet Torobatl fell to the forces of Xivu Arath.
- Festival of the Lost - An event celebrated in the Last City, inspired by Halloween.
- Final Shape - The ultimate goal of the Witness, in which both the Traveler and the Veil are connected to reshape reality to its desires.
- Future War Cult - A faction that uses The Device to predict future outcomes and ascended following the Concordat's expulsion from the Last City, led by Lakshmi-2.
G
- Gardener - A term synonymous with the Traveler.
- Ghost – A small, sapient machines created by the Traveler shortly after the Collapse.
- Gift Mast - An artifact constructed by the Traveler to stabilize the singularity around the Harmony's star system.
- God-Thoughts - Rulers that subjugated the Psion species.
- Golden Amputation - A campaign conducted by Oryx against the Taishibethi that ended when he took the Tai Emperor Raven.
- Great Ahamkara Hunt - An event where Humanity hunted the Ahamkara, shapeshifting creatures capable of granting wishes, to extinction, leaving Riven as the last of its kind.
- Great Disaster - An event where Crota slaughtered thousands of Guardian during their attempt to reclaim the Moon.
- Great Machine - The nickname of the Traveler used by the the Fallen.
- Guardians – Lightbearers who act as protectors of the Last City and Solar System against the forces that threaten the City.
- Guardian Games - An event celebrayed in the Last City where Titans, Hunters, and Warlocks compete for glory, based on the Olympic Games.
H
- House - A specific faction of Fallen led by the Prime Servitors, Archons, and/or Kells.
I
- Imbaru - A tribute system created by Savathûn that feeds on ignorance and confusion.
- Inquisition of Self - A heretical ritual practiced by the Hive which is used to transfer souls and essences between bodies, thus giving stronger essences a more suitable body and vice versa.
- Iron Lord - A group of Lightbearers that protect the people of Earth from Warlords and alien threats during the construction of the Last City in the Dark Age.
- Iron War Beast - A sublegion of Imperial Cabal commanded by Valus Saladin Forge.
J
K
- Kell - A rank of Fallen that politically leads a House.
L
- Legion – The largest organizational military unit for the Cabal Empire.
- Ley Lines - A location that serves a bridge between the material plane and the Ascendant Plane and is influenced by paracausal entities.
- Light – A paracausal force that affects the physical world and has existed since before the beginning of time and space. Driven to increase the complexity and diversity of entities within the universe, and encourage the growth of new lifeforms.
- Lightbearer – A individual capable of wielding the Light via their Ghosts.
- Long Drift - An event in Eliksni history where they became the Fallen and begin pursuing the Traveler to the Sol System.
- Luster - A term used by Rhulk to refer to the Witness's abilities, i.e. repair items such as Rheliksbane.
M
- Midnight Coup - An event in Cabal history where Emperor Calus is overthrown by 8 individuals: Dominus Ghaul, the Consul, Empress Caiatl, Evocate-General Umun'arath, Freeborn Otzot, Lictor Shayotet, Aedile Moli Imoli, and Iska'al of Fantor.
N
- Necromancy – A practice involving the use of paracausal abilities to reanimate the dead. It is considered by the Hive to be a violation of Sword Logic.
- New Monarchy - A faction that believes in absolute authority and restoration of Golden Age knowledge, led by Executor Hideo.
O
- Oversoul – A Hive construct created by Ascendant Hive to detach their souls from their physical bodies to increase their chance of survival by containing them within Oversoul and capable of emitting a Paracausal death impulse.
- Optus - A rank held exclusively by the Psions serving Empress Caiatl.
- OXA Machine - A device that holds the records of the universe, destroyed and remade by the Psions.
P
- Paladin - Awoken commanders that lead its armies in defense of the Reef.
- Paracausal – A category used to refer to abilities, events or entities which seem to violate causality. It is also commonly referred to as "magic".
- Phase Radiance - A form of energy that is utilized in Black Armory tech, that has various effects from suppressing abilities to killing, though it can be negated if those who have phase radiance as well that are matched in polarity.
- Prime Servitor - A form of Servitor that provides Ether for the entire House.
- Primus - A Cabal rank equivalent to a commander.
- Psion Flayer - A Psion rank capable of using a variety of powerful psionic abilities that are ascended through Flayer Aspirants.
Q
- Queen's Wrath - Emissaries of the Awoken Queen.
- Queensguard - Awoken soldiers that personally protect their Queen.
R
- Radiolaria - Micro-organisms that power the Vex frames.
- Red War - An event where the Red Legion used the Traveler Cage to strip all Guardians of their Light and invade the Last City.
- Reef Wars - A series of events where the Awoken fought the Fallen from the House of Wolves led by Skolas.
- Resonance - An aspect of Darkness predominantly used by the Witness and its Disciples.
- Risen - An archaic Dark Age term for Lightbearers, presently used to refer specifically to Lightbearers from that time period.
- Rite of Proving - A Cabal tradition used to challenge another in a trial by combat, reinstated by Empress Caiatl following the Fall of Torobatl.
- Royal nectar - A type of food substance derived from the floral emblem of the Cabal Empire, typically found in the Pleasure Gardens. It is used to enhance Cabal into Ceremonial Bathers in the Royal Baths and is an staple ingredient to make Royal Wine.
- Royal Wine – A royal beverage created from The Leviathan using planetary rubble grounded by the ship and mixed with royal nectar from the Pleasure Gardens. Favored by Emperor Calus.
S
- Scal'sangus - A Cabal form of art used to decorate the Bell of Conquests.
- Scribe - A Cabal or Fallen rank that records history.
- Seraphs - A group of enforcers hired by Rasputin to protect the Sol System from alien threats during the Golden Age.
- Shadows of Calus - Assassins hired by Calus to eliminate the major participants of the Midnight Coup.
- Shadows of Yor - A cultist group that follow the teachings of Dredgen Yor.
- Simulation – A Vex facsimile or duplicate created to study and understand from entities to entire realities with perfect fidelity and predictive ability.
- Six Fronts - An event where 4 orders of Titans successfully repelled a Fallen raid without falling.
- Sky - A term used by the Hive to refer to entities connected to the Light.
- Solar - An aspect of Light related to nuclear energy harnessed from the Sun.
- SOLSECCENT – A Golden Age organization responsible for coordinating the security of the Solar System.
- Solstice An event celebrated in the Last City to honor the heroes who fell in the Red War.
- Song of Creation – A song sung by the Ammonites dedicated to the Traveler, which the Hive attempted to replicate, but died when they tried to sing it. Its counterpart is the Deathsong
- Soulfire – An archaic form of energy utilized by the Hive to both empower their forces and feed their Worms. It is even present upon death.
- Speaker - Disciples that can interpret the Traveler's messages.
- Splicers - A rank of Fallen capable of interfacing with machinery.
- Stasis - An aspect of Darkness related to the movement of particles.
- Strand - An aspect of Darkness related to consciousness.
- Sword Logic – A philosophy and metaphysical framework by which one may gain paracausal powers. It is the guiding religious principle of the Hive. Its counterpart is the Bomb Logic
T
- Taken War - An event where Humanity fought against the forces of Oryx as he sought vengeance for the death of his son.
- Techeun - Awoken mystics capable of manipulating paracausal abilities.
- The Coalition - An alliance between the Vanguard, the Imperial Cabal, the House of Light, the Reefborn Awoken, and the Cloud Striders of Neomuna to prevent the Witness from achieving the Final Shape.
- The Dawning - An event celebrated in the Last City where many cultures comd together to spread kindness.
- The Guardian - The main protagonist of the Destiny universe, who was born on the eve of the Darkness's return to the Sol System at the Cosmodrome.
- The Light and Darkness Saga - The first saga of the Destiny universe, which focuses on the conflict between the Guardians, the Witness, and their allies.
- The Revelry - An event celebrated in the Last City to herald the arrival of summer.
- The Traveler - A paracausal entity linked to the Light.
- The Veil - A paracausal entity linked to the Darkness.
- The Void – The Void is reference to a place where void energy originates and is a way of accessing other realities and dimensions, and between life and death.
- The Witness - The main antagonist of the Light and Darkness Saga; a collective consciousness of the first civilization uplifted by the Traveler, made manifest in Darkness.
- Tree of Silver Wings - A legendary tree capable of being influenced by the energies of Light and Darkness.
U
- Uplift Coven - A terrorist group in Neomuna who were rejected candidates to become Cloud Striders.
V
- Val - A Cabal rank equivalent to a captain.
- Valus - A Cabal rank equivalent to a chieftain.
- Vanguard - An organization of Titans, Warlocks, and Hunters that lead the Guardians in defense of the Last City.
- Void – An aspect of Light related to gravity.
W
- War against the Witness - A series of conflicts between the Coalition and the forces led by the Witness.
- Warlord - A group of Lightbearers that subjugated and terrorized the people of Earth during the Dark Age.
- Warmind – Powerful AIs that were created to manage Earth's defense systems in the Golden Age.
- Weapons of Sorrow - Human-made Hive artifacts used to corrupt individuals. Thorn, Necrochasm, and Osteo Striga are examples of the Weapons of Sorrow.
- Whirlwind - An event in Eliksni history where their home planet Riis fell to the forces of the Witness and the Hive.
- Winnower - A term synonymous with the Veil.
- Worm – Symbiotic entities that lives within Hive creatures that allows them to use Reality bending powers at the cost of feeding them with death.
X
Y
- Y-Goblet - A religious artifact once used by the Psions before the God-Thoughts dominated the people.