Guardians in Destiny 2 will have their hands full taking on the Hive Goddess Savanthun in the expansion The Witch Queen, but there are a number of smaller story threads to keep an eye on over the next year of content. Lore pages found in various activities and equipment hint at some intriguing things going on outside of the main story, and players should keep an eye on even more upcoming lore to see where those storylines may be headed. In doing so, they may develop an idea of what to expect with future content.
February 15 saw the long-awaited conclusion of the Season of the Lost story. In the beginning, the legendary Warlock Osiris was revealed to be Savathun in disguise. She had taken his form prior to the events of Season of the Hunt. The player learns that Awoken Queen Mara Sov has struck a deal with The Witch Queen: remove the worm from Savathun and she will return Osiris and help in the ensuing battle with Xivu Arath, the Hive Goddess of War and Savathun's sister. Throughout the season, players did various activities in Destiny 2 to help Mara find her Techeuns, a coven of witches capable of exorcising the worm.
In the finale, players were introduced to a six-player mission called Exorcism that sees this process finally take place. After a boss battle, a cutscene played showing the removal of the worm. Because Savathun is the Goddess of Deception, Mara assumed she wouldn't hold up her end of the bargain and planned on killing her during this process since she would be powerless without the worm. Unfortunately for Mara, her plan was foiled when Savathun evaded her immediately after the worm was removed. Osiris was returned, but the Hive goddess was now out in the wild. In the latest expansion, Savathun discovered how to steal the Light in Destiny 2 that gives Guardians their powers, creating an army of Hive Guardians. Away from that conflict, however, there are other things at play with major implications.
Destiny 2's Spider Is On The Run Ahead Of The Witch Queen
The Fallen crime boss, Spider, was primarily known as Destiny 2's item vendor, but some lore suggests he may soon pay for his actions in Season of the Hunt. That season introduced players to the Guardian Crow, who turned out to be Awoken Prince Uldren Sov resurrected. It was established early on that Crow was working for Spider, obeying his every whim and acting on Spider's behalf across the Tangled Shore. The relationship was uneasy at best, with Crow's loyalty primarily motivated by the fact that Spider implanted an explosive in Glint, Crow's ghost, to prevent him from acting out of line. The season's story ended with the player's Guardian granting Crow's freedom in exchange for helping Spider. Additionally, the season lets players earn the exotic hand cannon Hawkmoon.
Three seasons later in Season of the Lost, Crow was reunited with his sister, Awoken Queen Mara Sov. Because Guardians have no recollection of their past lives after being resurrected by ghosts, he didn't remember her. Season of the Lost's six-player activity Astral Alignment includes a few audio logs detailing Mara's investigation into Spider. When she asked Glint how Spider treated her brother, he responded that he basically tortured him into obedience. When she asked Petra Venj, her closest subordinate, what aid Spider offered in the issue with Savathun, Petra said he offered nothing. For her, these inquiries seemed to confirm her decision to have him dealt with.
Spider was wise enough to understand he would likely be hunted by the Awoken queen's forces, so he enlisted the help of The Drifter, the organizer of the Gambit game mode in Destiny 2. The lore tab of the exotic ghost shell Wayfinder's Shell reveals that moment. After inviting The Drifter to his lair, Spider tells him that he needs help being smuggled off the Tangled Shore. Although The Drifter is considered an ally, he's more of a mercenary who won't turn down an opportunity to make some money. His involvement could eventually pit the player against him on behalf of Mara, making for an interesting conflict.
Saint-14 and Mithrax Are Becoming Close Friends in Destiny 2: The Witch Queen
Perhaps one of the most well-received aspects of Season of the Splicer is the development of the relationship between legendary Titan Saint-14 and Eliskni (or Fallen, as most of humanity calls them) Kell Mithrax. Saint-14, who was brought back to life earlier in the game, is considered by some to be Destiny 2's best character. When the season's conflict necessitated the welcoming of Fallen into The Last City, many were displeased and some even took action to destroy their encampment. Saint-14 explained these actions as people having a hard time trying to "live with their monsters," and Mithrax's response was that his people were doing the same. For generations, Eliksni villages told the story of an undying Guardian who slaughtered countless numbers of them, including many innocents. That Guardian was Saint-14, and the realization that he was responsible for hundreds of years of terror changed his view on the situation.
By the end of the Season of the Splicer story, Saint-14 becomes the most fervent supporter of the Eliksni's presence in the city. During one of the last missions, which features a secret message in Morse code, the encampment is under attack. Mithrax tells Saint-14 to go back and protect his people; but emphasizing his change of heart, Saint-14 replies that the Eliksni are his people. A lore page after this conflict details a moment between the two in which they both tried to come to terms with the senseless killing they've done in their lives. A genuine bond began to form from there.
That bond was on full display in another lore page that managed to excite players. Page 2 of the lore book Ripples, titled The Pigeon and the Splicer, details a scene shortly after the discovery that the Osiris had been the Hive Goddess Savathun through the entirety of Year 4 of Destiny 2. In this scene, Saint-14, who's Osiris's lover, asks Mithrax if he'd like to join him in looking for the real Osiris in Destiny 2. Mithrax accepts the offer and tells Saint-14 that as an Eliksni Splicer, he has hacked into the Vex network and knows the Vex keep a log of fallen Guardians and their ghosts. The two then traveled to Europa together in search of this log to find Segira, Osiris' ghost who was killed in the events leading up to Season of the Hunt. On this mission, the two express appreciation for one another, and it's a friendship many in the Destiny community would like to see more of in The Witch Queen.
Crow Now Knows His Past In Destiny 2: The Witch Queen
Before the conclusion of the Season of the Lost story, the biggest narrative moment came when Savathun revealed Crow's past to him. When he made physical contact with the crystal Mara Sov trapped her in, the memories of Uldren Sov came rushing back to him. It was then when he finally understood why people in The Last City look at him with such disdain: he was the one that killed Cayde-6 in Destiny 2's Forsaken expansion.
It didn't take long for Crow to display how conflicted this new information made him. Page 6 of Ripples, titled Isolation, details a moment in which he's sitting in his ship, simply drifting in isolation with Glint. He sits there speechless with his head in his hands, still in shock of who he once was. The page then skips ahead to Crow and Glint on Venus. Crow attempts to take on a Vex Minotaur using only his firearm and is quickly killed. Confused, Glint revives him and questions his motives. After constant badgering from his ghost, Crow finally admits that he, Uldren Sov, was able to kill a Minotaur without use of the Light, and he wanted to be sure he was no longer Uldren and still deserved to be a Guardian. It was evident he was having doubts about his purpose.
Not much is known about Crow's activity after this moment, but recent footage from the next season, Season of the Risen, reveals that he will once again be prominently involved in the Destiny 2 story. Additionally, the final page of Ripples, titled Correspondence, is a letter from Mara Sov to Crow. In this letter, she says that he is welcome back to the Dreaming City. Her treatment of her brother in the past made it clear she viewed him as nothing more than a pawn at times, but she went out of her way to express her love for him in the letter. Although he has made himself to be a loyal Guardian to the Vanguard, it is entirely possible he may one day return to serve the Awoken after reconnecting with his sister from a past life.
Of course, the lore pages hint at countless other story beats that could be interesting if brought front and center in some capacity. Some of that may come to fruition over the next few seasons; while some may not until Destiny 2's next two expansions: Lightfall and The Final Shape. These expansions will bring the Light vs. Dark Saga to an end, so only time will tell what Bungie reveals moving forward.