The lore used inDestiny 2is not afraid to play with familiar ideas when it comes to telling the game’s story to players. This makes sense since a primary tenet ofDestiny 2is that it is part of humanity’s future. Centuries from now, after a golden age of technology, unspeakable evil will visit Earth, and it’s the players' job to protect the last of the survivors. However, whileDestiny 2does well by playing into the fantasies of players saving humanity with its story and lore, it also expertly incorporates the darker folklore, mythos, and other legends that many people are familiar with. The lore for the Fundament Ghost shell is no different.
Added toDestiny 2with the launch ofThe Witch Queenexpansionin February, the Fundament Ghost shell tells a story of survival. The Rigby family strikes a deal with the Devil before the collapse, and as a result, she gives the patriarch, Sean Rigby, instructions that ultimately lead his descendants to the Last City. This final safe haven for humanity becomes the Rigby family’s home, and they settle on its edge. To get the guidance necessary to reach the Last City, though, Sean Rigby had to leave his family in debt to the Devil, a debt that the Fundament Ghost shell suggests has not yet been collected.
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The Devil in Destiny 2
This could all just be a lore piece based on a story passed down from parent to child through time, but some striking features in the text suggest it’s an early account of Savathun herself interfering with humanity. This would be well before the collapse and the Hive’s arrival in the solar system, putting her years, if not decades ahead of her brother Oryx at exploiting humanity’s possible weaknesses. Given what players know aboutSavathun, the Witch Queen, this is entirely possible as well.
Some of the best evidence for this doesn’t just come from how the Devil in this story interacts with Sean Rigby. It’s how the Devil is described that players should pay the greatest attention to. Though the Devil is often considered male in Sean Rigby’s tale, she’s female. On top of this, the Devil is given striking features throughout the story that, while inhuman, don’t exactly sound like the ones many people would associate with the Devil widely known today. The Devil has three eyes like many of theHive inDestiny 2and uses them to point the Rigby family in the direction of the Traveler.
The use of Light and interest in the Traveler that players see throughoutThe Witch Queen’s campaignsuggests that Savathun has had her gaze focused on the source of humanity’s Light for generations. Given that Hive Gods are so long-lived, it could be that Savathun was sowing the seeds for her success well before humanity had any idea of what the Hive were. The Witch Queen is not unfamiliar with playing the long game, and her unorthodox approaches when compared to her siblings, Xivu Arath and Oryx, have served her incredibly well in the past.
Using a random human that she sees future value in or that might have well-connected members of their family in generations to come would be a sly way for Savathun to work future events in her favor. This could have been achieved by knowing of them early and exploitingQuria, Blade Transform’s familiarity with the timestream in ways she saw fit, or through an entirely different approach. Either way, it’s very possible that the figure of the Devil described in Sean Rigby’s tale is Savathun herself. This idea based on the Devil’s physical features is further supported by the language the Devil uses as well.
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Savathun’s Song
The lore associated with the Fundament Ghost shell says that Sean Rigby was instructed to recite a song whose lyrics went “Al Eck Ruk Nam, Shu Nam Eck Ur” as he followed the star the Devil pointed out. When the Rigby’s recited this song while following the star, they would eventually make it to their new home beneath the Traveler. The language of the lyrics looks suspiciously like the sounds of the Hive as well as some names of Hive characters that can be found throughSavathun’s throne world inDestiny 2. Even more suspicious is its eight-note structure.
If the Rigby family has been reciting this eight-note song for several generations, it might be a Hive incantation, and specifically, it could be Savathun’s Song. The viral language of Savathun’s Song is a tool the Witch Queen has used against many of her strongest adversaries. Emperor Calus has commented on it, and major figures in the Vanguard including Crow, Shaxx, andEris Mornare known to have been exposed to Savathun’s Song. During Season of the Splicer, it was even implied that the entirety of the Last City may have been exposed to it.
If the Rigby family has been reciting this song for generations, the exposure of the Last City to Savathun’s Song in Season of the Splicer might not even be the biggest problem. By simply trying to reach a safe haven, the Rigby family could have exposed countless people across generations and locations to Savathun’s Song. This would make them a uniquely stealthy tool in Savathun’s greater plan and one that she still is owed a debt from. If Savathun were to collect her debt after the Rigby’s and Last City citizens have been infecting humanity with her song, players could see her turn humans against one another whileDestiny 2’s Lucent Hiveascend to become the Traveler’s chosen few.
This also demonstrates a major flaw in the Vanguard’s current approach to Savathun and the Lucent Brood as a whole. There’s no doubting thatthe Traveler is not all-knowinggiven the current conflict between Light bearers, but the Vanguard’s strong-willed attempts at victory could ultimately be in vain. Savathun could have made a winning move hundreds of years ago that no one with the power to devise a counterattack is aware of. By guiding one family to safety the Hive Goddess of lies and deception might have guaranteed the Vanguard’s defeat before her battle with them had ever started - a terrifying reality regardless of whether Savathun is aligned with the Darkness or the Light.
Destiny 2is available on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
