Crown of Sorrow

This article is about the artifact. For the raid, see Crown of Sorrow (raid).

The Crown of Sorrow

"Gahlran believed the Crown made the Hive his. Now he is [mine]."

— The Witch, Insidious.

The Crown of Sorrow is a dangerous and powerful Hive artifact which connects its wearer's mind to those of all nearby Hive, along with granting them access to Hive magics.

History

As part of a trap set by Savathûn, the Witch-Queen, it came into the possession of the exiled Cabal Emperor Calus. Suspecting that such a powerful artifact was a lure, Calus directed his Psions to examine it, finding the information stream sending data to the Ascendant Realm. Despite the obvious ploy, Calus still desired to use the Crown to command and civilize the Hive and instead gifted it to one of his Shadows, Gahlran. Calus specifically bred Gahlran to wield the Crown's morbid powers to further his goals but in the end, the crown drove Gahlran completely mad. With the crown's power, Gahlran was able to summon an infestation of Hive within the Leviathan's vaults, working towards an unknown goal.

Shortly after his Hive Shadow's corruption, Calus called upon his Guardian champions, offering great riches as reward for putting Gahlran down and purging the Hive from his ship. Even with the Crown's formidable dark powers granted to Gahlran, the former Shadow was defeated after a prolonged struggle. The Crown of Sorrow managed to survive the battle but was rendered inert without someone to bear it.

Calus mentioned Savathûn had been able to control Gahlran through a "viral language" etched into the crown.

The Cursed Ship

Following the disappearance of the Leviathan, Calus along with numerous advisors and a Guardian, sought to use the Crown to commune with the anomaly left behind the wake of Mars' disappearance. Utilizing Scorn captives on the Glykon Volatus, it would later be realized that Dark Ether held similar properties of the Crown's power, and would later find the perfect candidate to commune with it. However the experiment would turn against the Cabal as the Crown's power enforced large growths and a Scorn outbreak across the Glykon, leading to the deaths of the various Cabal and the Guardian on board.

Trivia

• The basic design ofthe Crown of Sorrow is vaguely similar to the headdresses of the Aztecs.
• When Gahlran, the Sorrow-Bearer is killed, the Crown of Sorrow crashes on the ground and the player can crouch walk under it and see the Hive runes that allow Savathûn, the Witch-Queen to control the wearer. Central among them is what could possibly be the insignia of Savathûn; though the symbol provided with the announcement of The Witch Queen is most likely the sigil of the Queen, and it does not align with the Crown of Sorrow rune.

Gallery

• 

  The runes within the Crown of Sorrow.

List of appearances

• Destiny 2:
  • Season of Opulence (First appearance)
  • Season of the Chosen