Anthem Anatheme

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"So it whispered the Anthem Anatheme, the temptation to dominate the objective universe with the subjective will. It said, I shall be an engine to make your desire hegemon over your conditions. It said, WIELD ME, AND USE ME TO TEST YOUR FOE. This was its worship. Aiat."
— Whisper of the Worm Lore tab

The Anthem Anatheme is a concept related to several paracausal entities and their abilities, most notably the Ahamkara. It is defined as "the temptation to dominate the objective universe with the subjective will," or in other words the desire of sentient beings to change reality to better suit their purposes.[1]

Overview

"Wishes: A verbally expressed desire expressed within audible range of any Ahamkara. This wish is granted through invocation of something known as the "Anthem Anatheme," which appears to be a manner of subjecting reality to one's will, similar to a Lightbearer's ability to affect paracausality. However, little is known about how this process unfolds in practice."
— Queensfoil Censer Lore Tab

The Anthem Anatheme is foundational to Ahamkara wish-magic, as the Ahamkara derive sustenance from paracausally fulfilling the desires of other beings.[2] The Worm God Xol also invoked the Anthem Anatheme when he transformed himself into a weapon after his physical death.[1]

Beings who draw power from the Anthem Anatheme are known to use a specific phrase, "O/Oh (subject) mine," when addressing other beings. According to Mara Sov, this phrase acts as a curse, which the Ahamkara use to mark their prey[3]. The Worm Gods are also recorded as having used this phrase in the Books of Sorrow; in the Truth to Power missives discovered by the Guardian in the Dreaming City, the AI Medusa hypothesized that this may be a case of convergent evolution rather than an indication of kinship between the Worms and Ahamkara [4]. However, it should be noted that the contents of Truth to Power are almost certainly designed to confuse and mislead the reader, and thus any information presented should be regarded as suspect. Other beings like Savathûn, the Witch Queen and Emperor Calus have also on occasion utilized the specific phrase, perhaps in an attempt to use the Anthem for themselves.[5][6]

The Awoken of the Reef are generally not subject to the Anthem Anatheme, as their desires are aligned almost perfectly with those of their Queen, and the Queen herself has very little desire to change reality for her own purposes. It was this alignment which allowed the Ahamkara Riven to coexist with the Awoken in relative peace for so long, although Prince Uldren Sov was prohibited from interacting with Riven because his desires for himself were less attuned to his reality.[7]

The Cabal were also aware of the Ahamkara and the Anthem Anatheme before coming to the Sol System, with Calus having possessed an Ahamkara bone that originated from the extinct civilization known as the Harmony.[8] The Psions are said to be among those that truly understand the Anthem Anatheme.[9]

The Anthem Anatheme appears to be linked to another concept known as the "Anathematic Arc", which according to Ikora Rey is the primary goal of the Ahamkara as a species. The Anathematic Arc is described as a path by which the Ahamkara seek to travel to somewhere "more real" than the universe, which Ikora speculated might be a "parent" universe which spawned our current one, in much the same way as the Distributary is a pocket universe which arose within our own. By fulfilling the wishes of Guardians (and possibly other beings as well), the Ahamkara apparently move closer to this objective.[10]

Trivia

  • One of the earliest mentions of the Anthem might come from Unveiling, which may relate to the Worms and Ahamkara's use of the Anthem.[11]

List of appearances

References

  1. ^ a b Bungie (2018/5/8), Destiny 2: Warmind - Item Description: Whisper of the Worm
  2. ^ Bungie (2023/11/28), Destiny 2: Season of the Wish - Item Description: Queensfoil Censer
  3. ^ Bungie (2018/9/4), Destiny 2: Forsaken - The Dreaming City: Riven
  4. ^ Bungie (2019/4/23), Destiny 2: Forsaken - Truth to Power: asudeM
  5. ^ Bungie (2021/10/5), Destiny 2: Season of the Lost — Transcript: Wayfinder's Voyage VII — Speak with Savathûn
  6. ^ Bungie (2019/6/4), Destiny 2: Season of Opulence - Quest: An Imperial Summons, The Invitation
  7. ^ Bungie (2018/9/4), Destiny 2: Forsaken - The Awoken of the Reef: Telic II
  8. ^ Beloved, "I am a few days older.", "An ancient bone retrieved from the debris around a once-radiant black hole. Scholars tell me, Caiatl, that eons ago, a species lived around this deepness, and built an engine to tap its polar jets. But something came upon them from the dark and killed them all. [...] Now, this bone is a predator, it feeds on the gap between what you have and what you want."
  9. ^ Bungie (2023/11/28), Destiny 2: Season of the Wish - Dragonslayers: Valus Forge's Prologue
  10. ^ [1]
  11. ^ Bungie (2019/10/1), Destiny 2: Shadowkeep - Unveiling: Gardener and Winnower
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