Destiny 2: The Witch Queen revealed lots of new lore regarding the future of the MMO game, including information about the story's new main villain, The Witness. The Witness is looking to be one of the worst enemies the Guardians will have to face yet, with his army of darkness likely to include a new enemy type. Namedropped multiple times in The Witch Queen expansion and the Vow of the Disciple raid, The Witness will possibly appear in the game's next DLC, Lightfall.
[Warning: Spoilers for the ending of Witch Queen and Vow of the Disciple raid are below.]
Destiny 2 is a massive online free-to-play game created by the original Halo developer, Bungie. The game has evolved immensely since its initial release in 2017, developing an ongoing seasonal battle pass and new abilities and weaponry for players to enjoy. Destiny 2 has also delved more into its lore recently, hyping up the arrival of the next big baddie in the series, The Witness. The Witch Queen DLC teased his arrival multiple times, with the most notable hint being the final scene of the expansion's story.
Destiny 2: The Witch Queen DLC has been praised by many fans for its great campaign and new additions to the game, including the Hive worm launcher, Parasite. Destiny 2 has been preparing for the arrival of its main villains as far as the Red War campaign with the Traveler's reawaken alerting the Darkness of its location. Now that the Guardians have dealt with multiple pyramid ships and even fought one of the Witness's disciples in the most recent raid, The Witness may be making his arrival pretty soon.
Destiny 2's Witness Is A Child Of The Darkness
The Witness has been known by many names over the years of his long existence. Being an eerie-looking, humanoid being, he certainly fits the role of "Child of the Darkness." His long black cloak seen in the end scene of Witch Queen seems to be made of the same material as other Darkness artifacts the Guardians have seen over the many different storylines in Destiny 2. His abnormally large dark eyes and skull clouds emanating out of his head can truly strike fear into the heart of anyone who looks at him. The Witness also seems to have a collection of corpses of various enemies seen across the Destiny universe.
As to his origin, Savathun states two opposing statements. One of these statements is that the Witness created the Darkness, which would not really make sense considering one of his names is the "Child of Darkness." Another explanation, which could be the most likely, is that The Witness was a mortal whose race was given the power of the Darkness similar to the relationship of the Guardians and the Traveler in Destiny 2. This would make the Witness a character similar to the late Speaker, who was seemingly killed during the Red War campaign.
The Witness Is Responsible For Making Destiny 2's Hive Race Enemies Of The Light
Seen in The Witch Queen DLC, The Witness is responsible for manipulating Savathun to work for the darkness. Savathun kept a Worm familiar, which was a larva from the Worm Gods, beings of Darkness who were freed by Rhulk, the main boss of the Vow of the Disciple raid, from imprisonment by the Leviathan, a disciple of the Traveler. One of the Worm larvae would wash up on the shore of the Osmium Court, home of the Osmium King who was the father of Savathun and her two sisters. After his murder, the young Savathun would go on to use her late father's dead worm in her quest for vengeance.
The Witch Queen revealed new lore about Savathun's story with the Witness. Using the darkness-aligned Worm familiar, The Witness telepathically spoke to the young Savathun, claiming that her court was in immediate danger of a tidal wave. While there was no danger, The Witness successfully gained the support of Savathun and ascended the Hive to become servants of the Darkness. The Witness had used Savathun's desperation to his gain, making the proto-Hive servants of the Darkness before the Traveler could get to them first. This also reveals that Savathun was never exactly a villain in this story, she was merely manipulated by the Darkness. This could serve as an explanation as to why the Traveler decided to resurrect her with the light.
Rhulk Of Destiny 2's Vow Of The Disciple Raid Is One Of The Witness's Followers
Destiny 2's Vow of the Disciple raid was released recently, revealing a ton of new lore regarding the Witness as well. Rhulk took the spotlight of the raid and being one of the Witness's disciples, had deep ties to the Child of Darkness. Hailing from a planet called Lubrae, Rhulk was a warrior chosen by the Witness to become one of his disciples. Rhulk was responsible for freeing the Worm gods which lead to the manipulation of Savathun by the Witness billions of years before the current events of Destiny 2. Rhulk is a close ally to the Witness, being sent to complete various tasks for the Darkness before his eventual demise by the hands of the Guardian. A powerful foe, Rhulk is a challenging boss in the Vow of the Disciple raid, wielding a glaive powered by Darkness against his foes.
The lore of The Witch Queen and the raid revealed that Rhulk was imprisoned in his pyramid by Savathun's light in Destiny 2's new location, Savathun's Throne World. Rhulk resorted to using the Scorn to attempt his escape, which was foiled by the Guardians in the Vow of the Disciple raid. Rhulk has a trophy room, similar to that seen in the Witness's introductory scene. These trophies include a rib of the Leviathan, a disciple of the Traveler and the Caretaker, a powerful Scorn abomination infused with a Hive worm larvae. Clearly, beings of Darkness like to keep war trophies.
Destiny 2's newest expansion and raid have given players lots of new and juicy lore to sink their teeth into, with the main focus being the Witness and the Darkness. The Witness is setting up to be the series' biggest villain yet, and with Lightfall right around the corner, he could even be the Traveler's demise. Destiny 2 is on its way to having its biggest expansion yet, likely revealing most - if not all - of the mysteries behind the billion-year war between the Light and the Darkness.