In Destiny 2, fans report new information and theories: They believe the story of the Traveler is finally picking up after 6 years. One of the most important characters in Destiny could become a traitor in the new expansion “Beyond Light.” It seems Bungie is telling the story in 2020 that they wanted to tell back in 2014.
Warning: This article contains story spoilers and theories. Anyone who wants to be surprised about what happens in the fall expansion of Destiny 2, “Beyond Light” should not continue reading.
This is why Destiny has not had a proper story for 6 years
This is what’s wrong with the story of Destiny: The story of Destiny has always been what you would call “muddled,” “confusing,” “a mess,” or “chaotic.” For years, multiple authors worked on a story that had completely different visions of where it was supposed to go:
- The original story was discarded shortly before the release of Destiny, apparently after a dispute, the Halo author Joseph Staten left Bungie.
- A crisis team somehow pieced together a narrative from the characters and elements that were already in the game. The story was of little substance, with twists coming out of nowhere (“No time to explain why I don’t have time for explanations”) and Bungie was ridiculed for it for years.
- With DLCs, Bungie consistently deviated from the main story and started new narrative threads. The best expansions of Destiny, “The Taken King” (2015) and “Forsaken” (2018), had nothing to do with the Traveler and the main story. The authors told their own stories here.
- The actual story was mostly not told in-game with cutscenes and dialogues but supplemented with lore texts.
- Destiny 2 was also “rebooted” midway – previously, the actual author wanted to continue the story of Mara Sov, who had disappeared in The Taken King. But the head of Destiny 2, CJ Cowan, left Bungie, and Mara Sov did not appear at all in the Destiny 2 campaign. Instead, it shifted focus elsewhere with the Cabal.
- In 2017, it became clear that the “new man at the helm,” Luke Smith, himself had no idea where the original author wanted to take the story.
- Countless threads have been left hanging in Destiny for years.
The chief is now allowed to tell the main story
This is different now: For a few years now it has been clear, that Luke Smith is in command of Destiny.
Smith apparently needed some time to deal with the backlog, to piece together the story elements, to release already prepared content, and now has a clear vision and plan for how he wants to tell his story of Destiny 2 on a grand scale for the first time.
So far, the raid “The Glass Vault” and the expansion “Taken King” were his, two elements from Destiny 1 that are considered outstanding but had nothing to do with the actual story.
Bungie wants to tell the new story from 2020 in 3 expansions by 2022. With “Beyond Light,” this story trilogy is finally set to begin, 6 years after the release of Destiny.
Smith aims to take many ideas from Destiny 1 and bring them to a conclusion. Thus, the trailer for “Beyond Light” was heavily inspired by the original Destiny trailer. The “Stranger” is also back and is supposed to play a proper role in Destiny now after having become a symbol for the “incompleteness of the Destiny 1 story”.
The Traveler – the great mystery of Destiny
What is the story of Destiny really about? Since 2014 there has been a major theory about Destiny.
The Traveler is not “the savior of humanity” and “something good that should be worshipped,” but a curse and the downfall of humanity.
In Destiny, “the Traveler” (The Traveler) is a sphere (as large as a city) that hovers above Earth. With the arrival of the Traveler above Earth, a “Golden Age” began: Humans utilized new technologies, set off from Earth, and colonized space. The Traveler is said to have saved humanity when the “Collapse” occurred, when darkness fell upon humanity, abruptly ending the golden age.
At that time, the “Traveler” is said to have sacrificed itself to protect humanity. Since then, the Traveler has been resting.
Destiny takes place centuries after the “Collapse”: What exactly “the Darkness” is and how the Traveler saved humanity is no longer clear to the characters in Destiny 2.
The Traveler is a mythical being in Destiny 2 from which players draw their powers. It is something that the characters of Destiny 2 themselves do not understand but only know from legends.
Many lore texts over the years contradict the “official narrative.” It has been long hinted that something is stirring in the background.
The Traveler seems to come to peoples and “raise” them, only to be caught by the Darkness, making it disappear as the people he gifted with a golden age perish.
In the world of Destiny, however, the Traveler could not vanish but fell into this state of rest that players have encountered.
Over the 6 years of Destiny, the Traveler has only appeared sporadically. The narrative repeatedly deviated from the main path and the Traveler “rested.” At the end of the Destiny 2 campaign, the Traveler stirred to free itself from Dominus Ghaul. It sent a pulse into space attracting “the Darkness” and its Pyramid ships, which have been on their way since 2017 and are coming to Destiny 2 with “Beyond Light” in the fall of 2020.
This could happen in “Beyond Light”:
Now fans have put forward the thesis that in Destiny 2 “Beyond Light” there could be a civil war:
- On one side: the “faithful people” who continue to believe in the Traveler and the light.
- And on the other side: those who are against the Traveler, who doubt him and rise against him. They could join forces with “the Darkness” and choose the Pyramid ships.
After all, it is known that with Destiny 2 the Guardians will harness the power of Darkness. The new damage type “Stasis” comes from Darkness.
This would be a plot similar to “Captain America: Civil War”: there, the superhero team “The Avengers” split into two factions and fought against each other: Iron Man on one side, Captain America on the other.
Zavala: “It will be wild!”
This is the plot twist: As a potential leader of this “Darkness faction” in Destiny 2, a Guardian on Reddit has pointed out the dutiful and loyal Zavala (via reddit). Until now, he was considered rather boring. The star of Destiny had thus far been Cayde-6 – until his death.
Zavala’s role in “Beyond Light” is confirmed by his voice actor Lance Reddick. He described the story of “Beyond Light” as wild.
In recent years, lore hints have been increasing that Zavala is increasingly doubting the role of the Traveler. Zavala sees his task clearly as protecting the “last city,” not preserving the Traveler from harm. If there were to be a situation where Zavala had to jeopardize the Last City to protect the Traveler, Zavala could indeed sympathize with the Darkness.
The Guardian on Reddit cites various lore sources that illustrate:
- There are hints that it frustrates Zavala to believe in an inactive god to whom he often prayed and who never heard him
- Data mining further shows that Eris Morn suspects Zavala is planning a betrayal.
- The exotic pistol “Chosen of the Traveler” contains a lore text that the Guardian attributes to an Ahamkara, who writes about Zavala. The text makes it clear that Zavala is increasingly doubting the Traveler:
“All we have left now is our faith.”
I retreat into my bone cave and he is there.
Lore text for “Chosen of the Traveler”
I see him standing at the railing, looking at his Traveler with a bowed head. He speaks in a gentle voice, but I can hear him. Anyone could have understood him.
He waits for an answer and so do I, tense, curious. Standing there full of attention is this loyal dog of a man. I can hardly feel the time, but for him the hours pass quietly.
I am ready to stifle the voice of his Traveler should he respond, but there is nothing. He clings tighter to the railing.
I feel something change in him, and a new possibility opens up.
**
Again, I press on the cave. The net creaks slightly under my eagerness.
Someone approaches, and he turns his back to his Traveler. There is an exchange, masked by the reddish whirl.
He reports back. Hope is bleeding out of him. He hands a token of trust to the messenger. This one takes it without understanding its significance.
He watches as the messenger leaves. In his middle is a hollow space. It is beautiful.
**
I return alert.
I do not see him, but I hear him. He speaks to all, his voice is drenched in sorrow.
I must know how far my regression is. I cautiously reach for him. Strength. I push – and feel only sweet, soft decay.
I am drunk with joy. They have received no answers. It was a reflex, the twitch of a stupid muscle.
A song of joy rises within me.
Now.
This is what’s behind it: It seems unlikely that players will have to “really” choose a side and then use either “Light powers” (the old ones) or “only the new ones” (i.e., Stasis). The civil war will likely be more of a storyline in the game that players can follow.
The story around the “Traveler” and that he has actually been the villain for 6 years and that players are working for the “dark side” is the special twist in the story of Destiny that has been awaited for 6 years. However, it hasn’t really picked up because the story of Destiny has often been thrown out and many people aren’t participating in it anyway because it is hidden in lore texts.
In 2020, instead of a “Destiny 3,” there will be a “Destiny 2 part 2”: perhaps this one will finally have a proper story.
The story of Destiny is set to begin a new chapter in autumn 2020. Beyond Light is scheduled for release on November 10, 2020.
For Bungie and the “Destiny” franchise, this new chapter began back in January 2019. At that time, Bungie split from publisher Activision Blizzard, but those hoping for a break and fresh start have so far been disappointed. Apparently, everything is taking a lot longer:
Destiny 2 without Activision Blizzard was supposed to be great but has so far been disappointing
