Lore:Sol, A History

"And my vanquisher will read that book, seeking the weapon, and they will come to understand me, where I have been and where I was going."The following is a verbatim transcription of an official document for archival reasons. As the original content is transcribed word-for-word, any possible discrepancies and/or errors are included.

Sol, A History is a Lore book introduced in Lightfall. Entries are unlocked upon reaching Guardian Rank 6 for the first time. It explains the main events that make up the setting of the Destiny universe.

I. The Golden Age

The Traveler changed everything. It reshaped our solar system as decisively as it shattered our scientific and philosophical frameworks. To our ancestors it must have been a hammer blow-a glimpse beyond the horizon of expected possibility.

The Traveler kindled the Golden Age. But we built. We remember this with pride, even after so much else has been lost.

Today, Cryptarchs and scholars work to distil the legends of the Golden Age into truth. We know now that Humans lived longer, flew further, and learned faster. We know that countless ancient diseases and hatreds were extinguished forever. Human aspiration movements, and even new forms of life.

The Golden Age was not without challenges. But humanity and its machine children tackled these problems with pride, vigor, and a contagious sense of pluralist compassion.

II. The Collapse and The Dark Age

The Golden Age burned bright-and the night that overtook us after the Collapse was swift and total.

Incalculable waves of destruction ripped through Sol, decimating populations all around the system. If the stories are to be believed, this event marks the arrival of the Witness and its forces in their first attack on the Traveler. That day, the Traveler saved us from certain extinction.

The tally of suffering may be beyond comprehension. But in the following decades, the City lifted itself from the ash, gathering survivors. Guardians rose to challenge alien hordes. The Dark Age swallowed so much of our history… but hope never died.

III. The City Age

The Last City did not rise without struggle. Lightbearers, styling themselves as Warlords, and wilderness fiefdoms clung to power. Starvation, disease, and anarchy menaced. But this struggle brought about the rise of the Guardians and the formation of the Vanguard. The organization fought tirelessly to return some semblance of order to the people remaining on Earth

As the City learned to walk again, it found a world overrun by alien menace. It faced disaster and defeat in the Taken War and the Red War, outlasted multiple invasions, and was plunged into an Endless Night. If not for the work and sacrifice of the Vanguard, we would have lost it many times over.

The Last City is both a reminder of all that remains of Earth’s civilization, and a commitment to our future. Repairs may come in small bursts, progress may feel slow, but humanity is nothing if not resilient.