Ace is a character introduced in Destiny 2's lore in connection with Cayde-6. While it is easy to read some of the lore at face value, a deeper dive into the numerous narrative entries that mention Ace produce a clearer picture of the character hidden in the history of Destiny 2's world. While answering the question "Who is Ace?" is simple in some respects, the existence (or non-existence) of the character paints a more complex picture of Cayde-6 than players would get by just playing the game.

Who Is Ace?

To answer the question simply, Ace is the son of Cayde-6. Players were first introduced to the character early in Destiny 2 by picking up Letter Fragments. These items were discovered as part of the weekly quest from Cayde-6 that tasked players with finding Cayde's Stashes throughout a new destination each week.

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In these very brief narrative logs, players got a fragment from a journal belonging to Cayde-6. They are written from Cayde to his son Ace. They describe different parts of Cayde's experiences, quick notes from father to son. If players only read these journal fragments, they would be led to believe that Cayde had a son in his life before becoming an Exo. But the answer really isn't that simple.

Is Ace alive?

Despite Cayde-6 writings to Ace, Ace is not alive. Ace was Cayde's son before the Collapse (the event in Destiny lore that describes the fall of humanity after the Darkness came followed by the Traveler pushing back the Darkness, entering stasis, and sending out Ghosts to awaken the Guardians) and Cayde knew the name because it was written in a journal that he found on himself when he was found and revived by his Ghost, making him a Guardian. The lore attached to the Rekindled Solstice Cloak tells about this, from Cayde's words:

"Saw the name in a journal in my pocket when my Ghost first rezzed me. Seemed as likely as anything else."

Is Ace real?

The answer to this question is very interesting because while it is almost certain that Cayde found the name in his journal from before he was a Guardian and flashes of memories of people who could possibly be his wife (who he calls his Queen in his journals) or child. Beyond that, any details about Ace were completely made up by Cayde as a coping mechanism to get him through.

The truth comes out in the lore entry "Bad Beat:"

The kid. The woman. I do not know them. They are not real. But I wish I did. And I wish they were. They're just the two best cards I could find to keep up my sleeve when the odds were stacked against me. I made them real in my mind and in my heart. I fell in love with the idea of them, and I crafted a truth that allowed me to feel. In truth, it was selfish. When I came to for the first time, I felt so alone. Broken. My Ghost tried to comfort me. But this life felt hollow. So I ran. But the flashes… Like daydreams, they promised something more. Something other than suffering and war. So I clung to them. And I built my truth. And it made me a better man.

Like most good lore, Ace's story is left up to interpretation. Cayde most likely did have a son named (or nicknamed) Ace before he was an Exo. But it's clear that Cayde remembered nothing about him. None of his descriptions of him (such as calling him a "firecracker" in lore entry "All In") are really true but were completely fabricated by Cayde himself. But Ace, who teetered on the edge of reality and fabrication, played a major role in Cayde's life, and even owes his namesake to Cayde's signature weapon Ace of Spades.

But even as Cayde is about to meet his demise in the first chapter of the Forsaken expansion, he braces for death by acknowledging his son and the possibility of meeting him on the other side in Cayde's well-remembered words from Forsaken's opening cutscene: "I'm coming home, Ace."

Destiny 2 is available now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

MORE: Destiny 2: Story Lines We Need Answers To

Source: Ishtar Collective