Destiny 2's latest lore provides a mind-bending nod back to Destiny 1
Stranger and stranger.
Destiny's ever-labyrinthine lore has just been expanded with a fan-pleasing throwback to the original Destiny - and in true Bungie style, it's opened up another set of questions in the process.
(Naturally, spoilers follow if you're not keeping up with Destiny 2: Forsaken's endgame.)
Destiny 2's latest weekly reset results in a new meeting with is-she-or-isn't-she-good Queen Mara Sov, who once again dwells upon what's next for the Destiny universe. Did she see the Activision breakup coming? Probably.
Mara has talked in the past of her distaste for the Traveller, Destiny's big sky snowball and your presumed ally, and remained aloof of efforts to keep the Darkness at bay. It's something she touches on again this week - although she finally now appears to pick a side.
The Queen mentions she's found a new friend - or in true timey-wimey fashion, she will do - and that friend will give her advice on this topic.
"I dreamt of a friend I will come to have," Mara says. "She will tell me: a side should always be taken. Even if it's the wrong side. I think I should like her."
Mara is echoing, word-for-word, something players were told by Destiny 1's mysterious Stranger character in 2014, who annoyed everybody by speaking riddles and then disappearing, leaving plot holes in her wake. ("I don't have time to explain why I don't have time to explain," was the classic line which embodied her character.)
After giving players this new riddle, it's now Mara who disappears, leaving new plot holes in her wake. Find footage of the encounter below, from reddit user iiDutchboii:
So what's going on? Well, the suggestion is clearly that the Queen will now pick the side of the Light - your side - and aid the Stranger in her battles ahead. (The Stranger, we found out a while back, is Elsie Bray, sister to a character you meet in Destiny 2's Warmind expansion.)
Through previous visits, Mara has been seen examining the infamous, upcoming pyramid ships - thought to be the fleet of the Darkness army, finally ready to invade. These have been teased since Destiny 1, and were finally glimpsed at the end of Destiny 2's campaign, out at the edge of our galaxy (which is, incidentally, where Mara has been hanging out too).
Bungie has regularly rewarded Destiny 2 players for their ongoing efforts in Forsaken with these regular meetings - but there's a sense of finality to this one. The Queen's disappearance here - teleporting away using the same effect the Stranger uses in Destiny 1 - is a suggestion she's off to meet the Stranger right now. It feels like the last time we'll see Mara for a while - perhaps for the rest of Destiny 2's tenure.
Regardless, for fans it's a cool nod back to Destiny 1, and the mysterious conflict going on somewhere/sometime else the Stranger kept flitting back to. Did Bungie know back then it was setting up a story it wouldn't resolve until Destiny 3? Probably not. Is it good to have a more cohesive, albeit deliberately bewildering answer now? Absolutely yes.
In the accompanying lore book unlocked at the same time, Bungie uses the errant Destiny 1 character Eris Morn to divulge more of the Hive's deep backstory, including the machinations of big bad Savathun. It's Savathun who has been behind much of the recent plot, all the while biding her time from within a black hole. And that's as deep as we'll get on that one for today.
In other Destiny 2 news, this week sees the return of beloved Destiny 1 hand cannon The Last Word (I guess quite a few of those old weapons survived after all?) and Bungie has also made finicky-to-find Whisper quest available every day if you're yet to crack on with that.