Warlord

"When the Ghosts first found us, those who were chosen were blessed with power, but not wisdom."

— Lord Saladin

Warlords were various Risen who used their Traveler-gifted mastery of the Light to establish a patchwork of petty kingdoms on Earth during the Dark Age and early City Age, before the establishment of the Vanguard. These were Guardians in only the loosest sense of the term; the people and villages whom they protected with their powers were forced to pay tribute to them, and failing to submit resulted in harsh punishments. The Warlords were never united under a single banner and frequently fought among themselves over territory. At least one was petty to the point of using a nuclear weapon against a settlement in a raid to steal livestock.

The era of the Warlords came to an end with the advent of the Iron Lords, an alliance of Guardians dedicated to ending their reign of tyranny and bloodshed. Some Warlords, such as Felwinter, eventually joined the Iron Lords, but most met a grimmer fate: defeat and execution made permanent by the destruction of their Ghosts. The ascendancy of the Last City and the Vanguard ensured that future generations of Guardians were directed to serve humanity and the Light, rather than only themselves.

A handful of Warlords, or at least rogue Risen, persisted or arose during the City Age. One example was discovered occupying the ruins of Caer Lerion, and was captured by Jagi's Host and brought in to the Tower.

Known Warlords

• Cathal
• Citan—Warlord of Sector 23 of Old Russia
• Castor—Original holder of Felwinter Peak
• Felwinter—former Warlord of Felwinter Peak
• Heyka-4
• Kandak—Warlord of the Saharan Contested Zone
• "Red Man"
• Reich
• Rience
• Segoth
• Shaxx (formerly)
• "The Wake"

List of appearances

• Destiny (First mentioned)
  • Rise of Iron (Mentioned only)
• Destiny 2 (Mentioned only)
  • Forsaken (Mentioned only)
  • Joker's Wild (Mentioned only)
  • Season of Opulence (Mentioned only)
  • Season of Dawn (Mentioned only)
  • Season of the Worthy (Mentioned only)