The World Of 'Destiny': The Villains Who Shaped The Franchise So Far

Video Games

Jul 1

Destiny as a franchise has been running for ten years, and while there has been some rocky news at Bungie and the wider gaming industry, it is a world with a rich lore full of amazing characters, intriguing concepts and some beautiful locations. Some of those characters, however, are villains, and their actions have shaped the Destiny franchise for more than a decade. Not all of them have been that long-lasting, but as we approach a new saga of storytelling, it is important to look back on these figures, and remember that not all of them are defeated.

The Sol Divisive

The Sol Divisive are a unique threat on this list as they are a Vex collective, made up of those units who inhabit the realm known as the Black Garden. A strange, lush space full of Vex architecture and plant life, the Black Garden was a site of worship to the Witness and the Darkness through an artifact called the Black Heart. This isolated site, cut off from the wider Vex network, saw the Vex protecting the Black Heart as it continued to suppress the Traveler for centuries after the Collapse, preventing it from healing. The player Guardian defeated the leadership of the Sol Divisive in the first Destiny, and destroyed the Black Heart, but these Vex were not done yet.

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The Undying Mind, a leader of the Sol Divisive, — Image Source: Destinypedia

The Sol Divisive was eventually roused to action in Destiny 2 as the Black Garden became incredibly active with other Minds awakening to try and defeat those who had destroyed the object of their worship. One of these, the Undying Mind, was eventually killed for a final time by the Guardians, leading the Sol Divisive to seek out other leaders.

As the Black Fleet approached the Sol system, the Divisive fully joined the forces of the Witness, and marched against the Coalition that stood in this force of evil’s way. At present, the Divisive are weakened in the wake of the Witness’ defeat, the actions of Maya Sundaresh in Episode: Echoes likely to substantially impact their remaining sway within the Vex network. But these oldest enemies of Guardian-kind shouldn’t be forgotten so easily.

The Hive Pantheon

One of the oldest foes to all Guardians within the lore of Destiny is the once-vast Hive pantheon. Founded millennia, perhaps millions, of years ago, it is centered around the living gods Oryx, the Taken King, Savathûn, the Witch Queen, and Xivu Arath, the God of War. Their many children and grandchildren also held degrees of power, and all were able to survive death by retreat to a pocket dimension called a Throne World where they could regenerate before eventually returning to the material plane.

Crota, Son of Oryx, was a significant threat to the Guardians of old and crushed their attempt to take back Earth’s moon. Attempting revenge, a fireteam of six assembled to descend into Crota’s domain, the Hellmouth, on that moon to kill him, but sadly failed. Crota’s Brood eventually began to plot his return, and prepare for an invasion of Earth, but Guardians defeated him within his throne world, a final death to this most savage son. Oryx himself was later dispatched alongside two of his daughters when he invaded Sol, his Dreadnought parked in orbit of Saturn, and his throne left empty.

The Witch Queen, Savathûn, now a Lightbearer — Image Source: Bungie

A struggle began for that throne, and while the power to take fell into the hands of Savathûn, Xivu eventually gained the power herself when the Witch Queen was disgraced. Many of their children were either taken or killed, while the grandchildren of Oryx through Crota raised the Scarlet Keep on the moon to battle with the Guardians as they unleashed the Nightmares. All fell before the Guardians, including Savathûn, even when she made the shocking choice to abandon the Darkness and join the Light. Due to her turn to the Light though, she eventually returned through the use of her Ghost. In Episode: Heresy, the Echo of Navigation, a copy of Oryx made many years before his death, appeared and became a prize both sisters battled over. He was briefly captured by the Guardians, then escaped, but upon realizing that he was merely a shell of a being now dead, and that he could not get away from fates where he would be trapped by heretics, in hypocrisies and in situations he would hate, he allowed the Guardian to kill him. The Echo was destroyed, earning us the renewed rage of Savathûn, while Xivu Arath retreated. It is important to add that Xivu’s immortality was stolen in a recent ritual prior to these events meaning that if she is killed, she will die for a final time.

The Hive are one of the most complex and compelling villainous factions in the world of Destiny, and even though much of their great pantheon is dead, one never knows where or when a scion of the pantheon might appear, or where the machinations of either remaining Hive god could rear their head. Guardians are gunning for a final end to Xivu Arath, but will also be keeping an eye on their backside to prevent a knife with Savathûn’s name on it from hitting them where it hurts.

Dominus Ghaul

The main villain in the base campaign of Destiny 2, Dominus Ghaul has a rich backstory connected with the politics of the Cabal Empire, and the next entry in this article, Emperor Calus. Ghaul was originally an albino, shunned by Cabal society, yet he was found by the Consul, a man thrown down and similarly shunned from the Empire at the behest of Calus. The two formed a partnership as mentor and mentee, with Ghaul eventually earning status and rank as a military commander after rising up the rankings of the gladiatorial fighting pits. In command of military forces, he grew close to Calus, who saw him as a son, even as the Consul lurked in the shadows. But then, it all came to a head. In the Midnight Coup, a number of Calus’ close allies turned against him, including his own daughter, led by the Consul and Dominus Ghaul. Capturing but not killing the Emperor, they sent him into exile aboard the bizarre biomechanical ship known as the Leviathan.

Ghaul now turned his focus to the rest of the Empire. Calus’ era of decadent and debauchery was thrown down in the name of militarism, but even as the Empire’s priorities shifted, a message reached them from Sol. Exiled legions, who had struggled for years against the Vex and other threats, now called for aid against the recently arrived Taken King, who had devastated their forces. Ghaul and his Red Legion headed for Sol, and Earth especially, soon after. Chaining up the Traveler, and cutting off thousands of Guardians from their Light, the Red War saw the Cabal organize in a dominant position across the Sol system. The Almighty, a vast superweapon, was positioned near Earth’s sun, to destroy it and the entire solar system if and when Ghaul wished, but the Guardians sabotaged it. All this time, Ghaul was obsessively seeking the Light, wishing for himself and his Legion to be given the gifts of the Guardians, to the growing anger of the Consul. But then, Ghaul snapped, killing his old teacher, and taking the Light by force. Guardians fought him in a desperate battle far above the Last City, where he reveled with a fusion with the light, only for the Traveler to break out of its cage, and obliterate him.

Ghaul’s invasion of the Last City saw the deaths of many Guardians and civilians, but his death was also the catalyst for great change. Far away, the echoes of the Traveler’s blast of light reawakened the seemingly slumbering Black Fleet, which slowly began to approach the Sol system. Ghaul’s death and costly foray abroad also left the Cabal Empire weakened, and Empress Caital, Calus’ daughter, has spent years trying to reunite her people and recover from the destruction of the Cabal Empire at the hands of the Hive.

Emperor Calus

Some of Emperor Calus’ lore was explored above, but to give a deeper rundown, he was initially not the ruler of the Cabal Empire. Through a series of events he orchestrated, he was able to take power and throw down his rivals, before instituting an era of decadence and opulence across the Empire. War took a backseat to partying, but suffice to say, Calus was not a good ruler, nor a father. Extremely vain, extremely petty, and flawed in many other ways, he eventually pushed his only daughter to take up the path she knew he’d hate: enlistment with the military. Others who he had gathered about him eventually all turned on him, and he was sent into a resplendent exile. During these travels, he came upon the Black Fleet and the Witness, and dedicated himself to becoming their herald. When Ghaul later invaded the Sol system, Calus was not far behind, proclaiming himself the true Emperor of the Cabal, and setting the Leviathan into orbit of Nessus, partially eating the planetoid in the process.

Calus then began an interesting relationship with the Guardians, inviting them to do battle with his forces and himself on various occasions, revealing unique Cabal cloning technologies, and that Calus used a huge array of robots to pretend to be in places he never was, and to keep up an appearance he apparently no longer had. He always rewarded the Guardians handsomely for taking care of issues he encountered or caused, and this led a scant few to join his employ. But then, the Black Fleet arrived, and the Leviathan vanished. When it returned, it hung above the moon instead, and was infested by a strange Darkness-infused fungus, and a host of loyalist Cabal and nightmares. Calus himself only at last returned at the head of the Black Legion during Lightfall, where he invaded the hidden city of Neomuna as the latest Disciple of the Witness. He is also perhaps the Disciple with the shortest lifespan in that role, given that in a matter of days, he was killed by the Guardians after having accessed the Veil, a paracausal anomaly key to the Witness’ plans, but hidden on Neptune. Calus’ story was long and winding across Destiny 2, his story deepening by fathoms before his untimely demise. The Shadow Legion he helped create continues to fight with and for the remains of the Black Fleet, though some appear to have become mercenaries, or seek new masters with great sources of power at their command.

Fikrul And Uldren Sov

Art depicting Fikrul in his Revenant Scorn form, — Image Source: Bungie

This duo presents our first case of a villain who later became a great ally, and in fact, a Guardian, though we are getting ahead of ourselves. Uldren Sov, brother to Queen Mara Sov of the Reefborn Awoken, was rather antagonistic to players back in the original Destiny. Sarcastic and unpleasant, the arrival of Oryx the Taken King into the Sol system devastated him. The Reef’s forces went out and met Oryx’s fleet, in a gambit to halt the Hive leader’s advance, which succeeded, but at an incredibly high cost to the Awoken including the apparent death of Queen Mara.

In the aftermath of this event, Uldren slowly began to spiral, and became a pawn of Riven, an Ahamkara, a wish dragon, captured by the Awoken long ago and now Taken by Oryx. This condition persisted after her death, and unknowingly, Uldren made a wish that revived a member of the Eliksni, also known as the Fallen, corrupting his Ether in the process into Dark Ether. This being was named Fikrul, and he came to see Uldren Sov as his Father. They spread their corruption to other Eliksni, reviving corpses, and giving birth to the Scorn, a twisted, mutilated form of the Fallen. Uldren and the Scorn Barons, the leaders of this faction, wrecked havoc on the Reef, killing and pillaging, destroying and raising more Scorn, all while Uldren was filled with delusions that this was Mara’s command.

Uldren Sov about to shoot and kill Cayde-6 — Image Source: Youtube

The Foresaken expansion changed everything yet again. Cayde-6, Hunter Vanguard, went on a mission to help ensure the security of the Awoken’s Prison of Elders after the capture of Prince Uldren, only for him and the Barons to escape. In the process, Uldren killed Cayde, leading Guardians to kill all of the Scorn Barons, and then kill Prince Uldren, as well as Riven once they realized the truth of her role in events. But then, within days…a Ghost found their way into the Dreaming City, and revived Uldren’s corpse. Wiped of his memories, and going by the name Crow, he gradually climbed up to the rank of Hunter Vanguard, with many among the City growing to respect and understand him.

Uldren, for all purposes, is dead, though due to a unique event, Crow is a Guardian with all of the memories of his past self’s actions. He has worked tirelessly to fix them, especially when it comes to Fikrul. Unlike the other Scorn Barons, Fikrul cannot die, reviving endlessly due to the Dark Ether coursing through his veins. In the wake of the Witness’ defeat, he came to possess the Echo of Riis, and used it to both uplift his existing Scorn, and planned to convert all Eliksni to that condition. The Guardians, however, were able to defeat him, though he survived. Fikrul is a foe that will surely continue to appear, especially as his new and improved Revenant Scorn surely causes problems in the future.

Eramis

Eramis is an interesting character, and is the second villain turned ally on this list, albeit an extremely reluctant ally. One of the oldest Eliksni in the entire Sol system, she still remembers her people’s homeworld of Riis before the Whirlwind, a disaster similar to the Collapse that saw the Hive and other threats descend onto the golden era created by the Traveler on the Eliksni homeworld. She traveled with her people in the Long Drift, becoming a proficient pirate, and was a member of the House of Devils. She only rose to prominence later though, as the Guardians decimated most Houses of Eliksni in the Sol system both before and during the original Destiny, to the point that a new House, the House of Dusk, pooled Eliksni resources together into a mega-House. Eramis, however, desired more, and tried to gain legitimacy as a leader through various methods before, on Europa, she and her allies encountered a long-crashed Pyramid of the Black Fleet. From the Pyramid, she and her allies gained the abilities of Stasis, and the House of Salvation was born. Rebuilding Riis on the world, she developed a considerable following, and recruited figures like Variks, another long lived Eliksni, to join her ranks.

But her use of Darkness turned Variks away from her, and led to him calling on the Guardians. The Guardians dismantled her forces, and mastered Stasis for themselves, eventually leading to her becoming frozen solid when she delved too deeply into a power she did not fully understand. Years later, the Witness freed Eramis, and she rallied pirate forces to collect ancient treasures to try and release a Disciple of the Witness. This was thwarted, and over the coming months, Eramis began to regret her choices more and more as her close friends were revived as Scorn by the Witness’ power, and as House Salvation was used in the Witness’ plans in Sol. She attempted to destroy the Traveler though, and gain revenge for its betrayal of her people perhaps as much as a millennia ago, but a superintelligent AI gave its life to save the day. Out of options, and with little loyalty to the Witness, she fled, and tried to rally what was left of House Salvation to leave the system. Guardian forces intercepted her, but soon, the Revenant Scorn under Fikrul revealed themselves to be the bigger threat. For the promise of safety for those Eliksni under her charge, she allowed herself to be arrested, though was later freed and was chosen as the bearer of the Echo of Riis. Allowed to freely leave with the Echo, she departed on fairly negative terms with the Guardian, leaving if she will be a foe and friend in the future up for discussion.

The Witness

The Witness was and is a force of supreme evil in the Destiny universe. A gestalt being of an entire civilization’s aspiration to bring about a perfect universe, dissenters were rejected and smothered, while a dominant opinion formed and crystalized into the Witness. It pursued the Final Shape, the ideal state of the universe, which would be a world of total stillness, frozen in its idea of perfection. But to accomplish this goal, it required two great paracausal objects, the Traveler, and the Veil. The Traveler, which had once blessed the ancient civilization that became the Witness, had fled when they first tried to enact the Shape, and so they began to pursue it. Across the universe, the Black Fleet of vessels, all under the control of the Witness, used Darkness to combat the Traveler’s Light and force it to flee time and time again. During these travels, the Witness encountered other alien civilizations, and destroyed many of them, but not all. In some, it found worthy Disciples, the last of their kind, and unique beings who totally embodied a singular concept or who held great loyalty to the task of bringing about the Final Shape.

These agents took to their own Pyramid Ships, and spread across the universe, creating species like the Hive by their actions, or terrorizing and becoming known in the myths and tales of others, as Nezarec did both on Earth and among the Psions of the Cabal Empire. But when the Witness and its forces eventually encountered the Traveler over the Earth, something changed. First, Savathûn stole and hid the Veil away, and second, the Traveler did not run. It stayed, and pushed the Witness back, leading to a considerable dormancy, and the Witness likely trying to determine where the Veil had gone. When the Traveler reawakened though, the Witness slowly approached the Sol system once again. This time, it created an army of its own, the Dread, gained access to the Veil, and carved a portal into the Traveler which it and most of the Black Fleet proceeded into. The Traveler’s Heart, as the Guardians called it, was slowly shaped and twisted by the Witness for a year as it sought to break down the Traveler’s resistance to its will. It deeply harmed the Traveler, and began to pull out enough Light to begin enacting the Final Shape. Fortunately, Guardian and Coalition forces stopped it in its tracks. Terribly weakened, a dead blow was delivered that shattered and destroyed the Witness, releasing several shards of Dark and Light-infused artifacts called Echoes, which contained knowledge and memories of countless civilizations the Witness had destroyed.

The final battle against the weakened final form of the Witness, — Image Source: Bungie

The Witness is truly dead, unable to be reformed. The Echoes that emerged from its corpse, however, will likely shape the future of Destiny’s storytelling, especially if more than the current three appear in future storytelling. Slowly introduced, its bizarre, alien visuals and deeply destructive central goal made it a formidable villain that shaped the entire story so far in the Destiny franchise.

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