Quria, Blade Transform

Quria, Blade Transform
Biographical information
Species:	Taken; formerly Vex
Rank:	Axis Mind
Class:	Hydra

"<interdict> / <simulate> / <worship> [...] <observe> ! <imitate> ! <usurp> [...] <unknown> / <enigma> / <shortfall> / <abort> ! <halt> ! <abort>"

— Quria, attempting to combat and analyze Oryx

Quria, Blade Transform was a Vex Axis Mind Hydra who was manifested by the Vex in order to understand and conquer Oryx's Ascendant Realm, and the sword logic within it.

Biography

Creation

"Simulate me, wretch. Calculate the permutations of my divinity. Compute the death in the shape of my throne. Render my shadow on the stone of ten thousand graveyard worlds! It will never be enough. I hold the Tablets of Ruin. I speak to the Deep. Not with a galaxy of thinking matter could you encompass me. Behold!"

— Oryx during his last battle with Quria

The Vex first encountered the Hive when Crota, Son of Oryx used his sword to cut open a portal to another region of space, in the hopes of gaining a secret power. Savathûn had tricked Crota into choosing that location; the region Crota accessed contained Vex, who were able to enter the Ascendant Realm of Oryx directly. Initially, the Vex were perplexed by the unique physics of the realm, physics of Oryx's own creation designed to allow the strongest entities within it to rule and attain divine power, i.e. sword-logic. Seeking a solution, the Vex manifested a new Axis Mind, Quria, Blade Transform, who was able to unravel the enigma of sword-logic and thereby allow the Vex to adapt to Oryx's ascendant realm. Quria's solution was simple: in order to gain power in the realm, the Vex needed to kill everything within it.

Soon the Vex were manufacturing powerful new models specialized for combat, which wreaked havoc among the Hive and consequently became even stronger. Oryx's children Crota, Ir Anûk, and Ir Halak, destroyed many Vex using an Annihilator Totem, but were unable to seal the portal to Vex space shut before Quria built a device to hold it open. For a century, a stalemate between Vex and Hive endured; neither race could leave their origin space to attack the other without becoming too weak to inflict any lasting damage.

Eventually, Quria captured Worm larvae for experimentation and discovered that worshiping the Worms allowed the worshiper to alter reality slightly. As a result, it created a Vex priesthood to worship the Worms, and then began capturing and killing increasingly dangerous organisms to bootstrap itself to divinity in accordance with Hive sword-logic. For unknown reasons, Quria refrained from integrating a Worm with Vex mind fluid.

War with Oryx

Summoned home by the Worm God Eir, Oryx cleared his ascendant realm of Vex, defeating Quria's limited tactics and forcing the Mind to retreat for a time. Quria did not attack the Hive again until Oryx had built his Dreadnaught and used it to destroy the Harmonious Fleet Invincible and raid the Nicha Thought-ship. As Oryx boarded the ship, Quria ambushed him in force. Upon attempting to simulate and understand Oryx, however, Quria was stymied, as Oryx had become too complex and powerful for even the Vex to fully comprehend.

Quria realized that it could not overcome Oryx and faced certain defeat. As Oryx and his forces cut through the Vex, Quria resorted to making a partial simulation of Oryx that encompassed only his original form, Aurash, as Quria could not accurately measure Oryx's current form and power. Quria projected the simulation of Aurash at Oryx to gain any insight it could. Fascinated, Oryx briefly spoke with the simulated Aurash, and Quria contextualized their dialog with a Taox-simulation retrieved from a gate in former Ecumene space. Quria's last act before Oryx took it was to send the information it had gathered to the rest of the Vex network, knowing the other Vex would devote their resources to finding a solution to the Hive.

Afterwards, Oryx gifted the Taken Quria to Savathûn so she could study it, explaining how it had simulated Aurash. To this end, he'd left Quria with a modicum of free will so that it might simulate further surprises for her.

The Red War

After the Red War, Taken forces led by Ir Arok, Tongue of Quria and others titled after Quria appeared on Io, and attempted to subvert the Vex Collective Mind. They were stopped by the Guardian.

Forsaken

At an unknown point after the defeat of Riven, the last Ahamkara, Quria traps the player in a simulation and explains what they must now do to permanently end the incursion of the Dreaming City. However, another simulant character appears and eventually tries to convince the player that Quria is lying. Regardless, the player presumably listens to Quria's message and escapes the simulation shortly thereafter. However, it is impossible to say if this is the real Quria, as several times during the lore series the narrator is claimed to be completely different people, eventually claiming to be in truth Eris Morn.

Trivia

• Quria might be derived from the Greek Kyría (κυρία), which translates to "lady". Related Kýrios (Κύριος) means Lord, and is a common title for Jesus Christ of Christianity.
  • It may also be a portmanteau of "Query" (A question) and "Curia". (A group of institutions within the Roman Catholic church) Quria was created to answer a question, and its answer was to mimic the religious behaviour of the Hive.
• Quria is the second known Taken in destiny to retain at least partial control of her will, after Malok and before Riven, of a Thousand Voices.

List of appearances

• Destiny
  • The Taken King (First mentioned)
• Destiny 2 (Mentioned only)