ABOUT THIS CONTENT
For the launch of The Witch Queen, we partnered with Bungie to create a series of how-to guides and videos. These are made by some of Destiny 2’s most well-known content creators and experts, in this case the Loremaster Myelin Games. For full disclosure, anything published under this program will include this panel.
In Destiny 2’s next major expansion, we’ll finally battle Savathûn, the Hive Goddess of Cunning. The Witch Queen is a battle that has been going on for years, but before you form a squad and enter her spooky “throne world”, it’s important to understand the threat she poses.
Those new to Destiny 2, or who have taken a break, might be wondering why this cackling lady is so dangerous, given that we Guardians have already slain a few gods. You should also know that, narratively, the Witch Queen promises to be the most untrustworthy expansion yet, crammed with all sorts of secrets and lies.
The best way to uncover the truth is to first understand the past, which is why I’m here to give you an introduction to the lore. For the full experience, click the video link above.
The origin of the Hive
To understand Savathûn’s motivations, we must go back to the beginning. The Hive we know today is very different from its original form. books of grief– basically a biography of Hive – call them the proto-Hive or Krill. This race was stuck on a planet called The Fundament, where several factions existed. Two main groups emerged, those loyal to the Court of Helium and those loyal to the King of Osmium. While the proto-hives often fought against each other, they were also at the mercy of many predatory species and even the toxic planet itself.
The Krill were at the bottom of the food chain and suffered brutal and short lives. King Osmium had three children (Aurash, Xi Ro and Sathona) who eventually grew into the Hive Kingship we know today (Oryx, Xivu Arath and Savathûn). This is absolutely not the kind of family you want to have for dinner.
A good deal with Worms
You might be thinking, “Savathûn sounds less like an existential threat and more like someone who booked the wrong intergalactic AirBnB,” which was true, until the Hive brothers met the Worms. The Krill’s urgency to leave the planet was heightened by the threat of a tidal wave, a cataclysmic event that would wipe out billions of dollars. The Krill noted that it was the Traveler (yes, the same flying golf ball that gives Guardians their powers) who aimed to bring about this calamity by aligning with the 52 Moons of the Foundation.
Why would the Traveler cause such destruction? Well, in the depths of the oceans of The Fundament lived Worm gods who had been imprisoned by agents of the Light. To escape, they had to make a symbiotic pact with another species. If a tidal wave wiped out all potential hosts, the worms would be trapped forever. From the Traveler’s perspective, when it came to slaughtering all life on the planet, the end justified the means. Which is an interesting reminder that the good/evil binomial in Destiny isn’t as clear cut as it first seems, but also a reminder that perhaps we shouldn’t trust a book written by the Hive in the first place.
Anyway! To ensure the survival of their kind, Oryx, Savathûn, and Xivu Arath took a ship to the depths of the ocean from The Fundament and struck a bargain with the Worm gods. Oryx agreed that all Krill would consume a worm larva in order to create a symbiotic pact between the races. And so the Krill became the Hive. (You can still see evidence of this ancient bargain today when you destroy a hive and the larva is expelled.) In return, the worms would provide the hive with incredible immortality and power. There was, of course, an important catch: the worms had to be constantly fed, otherwise they would consume their host.
There are two ways to feed a worm. 1) Constant killing as a form of tribute. This method applies to all Hives – they must keep killing or perish. 2) Never disobey his nature. This method is specific to Hive royalty. Essentially, they must stay completely true to themselves or die. So Oryx must never stop exploring and discovering, Xivu Arath must constantly test his strength, and Savathûn must never give up cunning.
This is why Savathûn is known as the sister of cunning. It is both her nature and her curse, for if she takes another path, she will be devoured by her worm. After the deal, Oryx and her sisters continued to conquer The Fundament, growing in power through all the kills, eventually allowing the Hive (and the Worm Gods) to escape before the tidal wave struck. What the Hive didn’t initially realize was that the Worms’ hunger is endless. As they fed their worms, the parasites grew more powerful and hungrier, requiring an ever greater tithe of death and destruction.
Why does Savathûn want to steal the light?
The simplest answer is that Savathûn wants to escape the endless cycle imposed by his Worm. Savathûn has used many schemes in the past to keep his worm sated, but all ultimately proved insufficient. She experimented with black holes, fed her worm deception and trickery (rather than killing), and even placed a time loop over the Dreaming City, cursing the entire area into one giant murder battery. Still, his worm wants more.
Which makes it all the more significant that in “Exorcism,” the final weekly mission of the current season, Savathûn has his worm removed by Mara Sov, the Awakened Queen. The cutscene ends with Savathûn apparently having escaped, and the worm now in the possession of Mara Sov.
[Editor’s note: Myelin’s video was recorded just before Exorcism dropped, at which point Savathûn/Osiris was still trapped inside a crystal.]
Presumably Savathûn wants to steal the Light to replace the Worm’s powers, thus maintaining his strength and immortality. In the past, several Destiny villains have tried to steal the light and failed, so what’s his plan?
How will Savathûn “steal” the light?
We can’t say for sure yet, but we do know that she’s been plotting since Hunting Season (Season 12). Around this time, Osiris lost his ghost, Sagira, in a battle against Xivu Arath. His lightless body was found by Savathûn, who either possessed him or posed as him, locking the real Osiris away in an unknown location. While pretending to be Osiris, here is a non-exhaustive list of what she did:
- Dissented among the Vanguard and attempted to have the Cabal kill Zavala.
- Forged a friendship with Crow, restored his pre-Guardian memories, and used him to acquire a group of dead Spider Ghosts on the Tangled Shore.
- You have collected the Crown of Pain (a Hive device used for mind control).
- Release a viral song around town, the purpose of which remains unknown, but is bound to be worse news than having Phil Collins stuck in your head.
We do not fully understand the significance of these deceptions. For example, restoring Crow’s memories alienated him from his sister, Mara Sov, but was that the point, or does Savathûn plan to leverage his friendship with Crow to somehow steal the light? ‘another one ? What we can say with certainty is that something big is about to happen. Savathûn has set up the chessboard and is about to let her play. When she gains the Light, she will have access to the same powers as the Guardians and can use it to alter her Throne World in unknown ways.
Uh, what’s a throne world again?
The Hive was the first being to establish Throne Worlds, though Mara Sov, Queen of the Awoken, was also able to create one with the help of Riven, a Wish Dragon. What exactly is needed to create a throne world is unclear, but we do know that throne worlds can be shaped by paracausal beings by sheer will and desire. The only way to truly defeat someone who has a throne world is to kill them inside.
The throne world of Savathûn is unlike anything we’ve seen before. It features a Light-blessed alabaster castle and a murky jungle containing a downed pyramid ship. A throne world is the representation of its owner’s psyche, so that of Savathûn represents the Hive casting off the Darkness of its past and embracing the Light. Keep in mind, however, that nothing is as it seems. Savathûn alludes to this when she says that her throne world is “indistinguishable from his own mind.” Or in other words: Don’t trust anything.
What happens next?
In the Witch Queen campaign, the Guardians will enter the throne world of Savathûn, presumably with the goal of eliminating it for good. However, when it comes to the cunning sister, it’s unlikely to be that simple. It can be assumed that his throne world has been altered by the Light, which may affect how it functions. Savathûn knows the importance of the throne worlds, would she allow the Guardians to enter so easily? Doesn’t this all sound very much like a trap?
You are now armed with the Hive story. It’s almost time to enter the world of Savathûn’s throne and discover the truth for yourself.
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