Destiny 2: Beyond Light is rounding out its second month in the hands of players, and the expansion has been a success in many ways. The new Raid, Deep Stone Crypt, has seen sky high engagement rates, the first of the Darkness subclasses has been implemented, and Europa has proven to be a worthy endgame zone. At the same time, there was a lot expected from this installment of Bungie's MMO. One highly anticipated addition was the introduction of a new enemy race, supposedly called "the Veil."
To start, the name "Veil" is not official. However, it is a word used specifically in Destiny 2 lore when discussing the Darkness. A supposed leak had named a fully Darkness-aligned race as "the Veil," and since then, Bungie has continually evoked the word through physical manifestations or prose. Most notably, players have encountered four veiled figures through Shadowkeep and Beyond Light with these introducing the Unveiling Lore Book. As things stands, the moniker "the Veil" is an educated guess and a community-favorite codename.
Ever since the first game was unveiled to the public, there was talk of a fifth enemy race. Destiny has since grown to include more than five races, but the DLC additions never exactly fit the original "Race 5" concept. The Taken are definitely close but they aren't affiliated with the pyramid ships as the initial Race 5 concept art suggests. Some fans think that the different components of this race has been split apart, and that the wispy humanoid figure was morphed into the Nightmares on the Moon while the triangle imagery was made into the pyramid ships.
That being said, Destiny 2 lore entries kept coming detailing unknown and mysterious alien creatures with typical Darkness traits. Cayde-6 and the Drifter both describe encountering formless eerie beings at the edge of the system. These were notably erratic in shape and suppressed Light, the power of Guardians, which the Darkness is known for. Their visual characteristics fit the very little art players have seen of beings made out of pure Darkness. With this much hinting, it has been assumed that Guardians will finally battle a Darkness army somewhere down the line, but all players have come into contact with so far are the pyramids.
Players first encountered a pyramid in person during Shadowkeep's campaign, culminating in a meeting with the now iconic veiled statue. This was thought to be an idol created by the aliens behind the ships, perhaps symbolizing their species, not unlike the Thrall statues on the Dreadnought. Since then, more statues have been discovered on sites where the Darkness makes direct contact with its visitors. Then, fans started to theorize about the nature of these "statues" when the one inside Deep Stone Crypt was discovered to be "alive." The humanoid female figure's chest rose and fell in a breathing motion as it let out whispers and gasps.
As familiar as players have become with these monoliths, they're still a huge mystery. If they are living and powerful, they might be what "the Veil" actually are. More recently, they've been spotted way off in the distance outside the Cosmodrome's shores. This is interesting for two reasons. Firstly, no statue had been located outside a Darkness foothold before. Secondly, these statues were a pair where every veiled statue had been solitary. If these aren't misplaced game objects, fans think the Darkness might one day start to send out these monoliths to spread its influence.
With the Darkness taking center stage last year, Osiris had noted that "the Darkness will choose its champions." It is unclear what this referred to exactly, but the game has some possible explanations. The Darkness' champions might be the aptly named Champion enemies seen in activities like Nightfall Strikes. Or, they could be high ranking alien commanders, like the lieutenants of Eramis, who side with the pyramids.
At the end of the day, the Traveler is the antithesis of the pyramids, and it doesn't boast a Light army. If the Darkness doesn't have a native race and merely adopts people like the Traveler, Destiny fans may never see "the Veil" they want realized. A lot of the discussion and hype around the Veil was fueled by wishful speculation and false leaks, while a plethora of supposed leaks have been disproven with the June reveal stream and later with the launch of Beyond Light.
When talking about the Destiny 2 roadmap concerning The Witch Queen and Lightfall, game director Luke Smith stated that every annual expansion will introduce a major new addition such as a brand new subclass type akin to Stasis. He also suggested that Stasis will not be the only Darkness subclass. Currently, there is reason to believe that The Witch Queen will add another Darkness subclass, but there is no guarantee that Lightfall will. Instead, Lightfall may finally be the time where the pyramids summon their armies for Guardians to battle. As its name and preliminary poster suggests, Lightfall will likely focus on the big clash between the Traveler and pyramids. If there is any time to add the fabled Veil, it'd be then.
Destiny 2: Beyond Light is now available on PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.