Destiny 1 players remember Petra Venj as the Reef vendor in the House of Wolves expansion, but Destiny 2 Forsaken gave Petra Venj a chance to define herself as a valuable character. She became one of the most crucial characters in the Destiny story.
Petra was introduced as the Queen's Wrath on the Reef, and she made her way up to becoming the Acting-Regent Commander. Although her character is not as prominent in the story as she was during Forsaken, she has a promising future knowing how much she has influenced the story in the past. Here are a few details players may not know about her.
10 She's A Vengeful Corsair
Petra Venj was raised by Techeuns, which are Awoken tech witches, in an Awoken station called Amethyst. Her station was massacred by The Silent Fang, a Fallen group from the House of Wolves. Paladin Abra Zire arrived late and was unable to save Amethyst.
WANTED: Veliniks, the Ravenous lore piece, explained how this started Petra Venj's journey to protect the Reef. She became a Corsair that served under Abra Zire, and helped hunt down Fallen leaders in the House of Wolves.
9 She Accidentally Killed Guardians
The Grimoire card Petra Venj Queen's Wrath disclosed a lengthy letter from Petra to Mara Sov. In this letter, she explained how targeting the House of Wolves ended up killing nine Guardians under her command.
Petra explained that it was an accident, since she didn't know how the Guardians would treat the situation. For this, she was demoted to Queen's Emissary where she spent time in the Last City. She pleaded to Mara Sov to let her back home.
8 Her Role As Queen's Emissary
Although most players remember her from the House of Wolves expansion, Petra Venj was first introduced as the Queen's Emissary within the first month of Destiny's initial launch.
Petra Venj managed the Queen's Wrath events as Mara Sov's Emissary in the Tower, where she stood under her ship. Players were able to meet with her at the back courtyard of the Tower that only opened during special events.
7 Becoming Queen's Wrath
The Honored lore from The Dreaming City Book showed Petra's Queen's Wrath ceremony conducted by the Queen. After the Queen's Wrath event, Mara Sov promoted Petra right before the House of Wolves expansion was released.
In The Hunt for Skolas lore, Mara Sov explains that she did this because she knows Petra will be relentless in hunting down Skolas. Petra is the second Queen's Wrath, after Sjur Eido.
6 Secret Paladin Oran
Paladin Oran is a recurring name in the Destiny lore. Paladins are commanders of the Reef, but Paladin Oran is not one of them. Lore indicating that a message came from Paladin Oran meant that Petra had something to say in secret.
Petra Venj used this name to send hidden messages to other Paladins and Cayde-6. In doing so, she would send phrases where the first letters of each word would reveal her actual message.
5 Her Many Burdens
A lot happened in Forsaken, but two significant events included Cayde's death and Riven's Last Wish. Petra Venj was present for each of those events, and so she blames herself for everything that happened.
Petra was unable to save Cayde-6 during the prison break and she fell into Riven's trap that put The Dreaming City in a time loop. Cayde-6 and Petra had often worked together to take down enemies. The Dreaming City and the Awoken people are dear to her. Also, Variks explained in the Reacquaintance lore that Petra and Uldren admired each other and had a deep affection. Yet, she helped the Guardian kill him.
4 She Could Have Taken Mara Sov's Queenship
The Awoken needed a new leader after the Taken War, since the Queen and Uldren Sov were considered dead. There was contention amongst the Paladins whether Petra was the one to replace Mara Sov.
Prodigal Armor reveals that Paladin Leona Bryl asked Petra to take Queenship. However, Paladin Kamala Rior was extremely against it. Petra did not want to accept the death of her Queen; therefore, she refused to take Queenship.
3 Assassination Attempts
During The Taken King April Update, a grimoire card called Report: Taken Power explained the chaos that unleashed after the Taken War and the supposed deaths of the Queen, Uldren Sov, and some of the higher ranking Techeuns. This lore also revealed that the Techeuns were distrustful of Petra Venj since they were always so close to Mara Sov.
It also noted, "Post Taken War Reef politics, Tech Witch Conversations and Petra, and Assassination Attempts, Petra." This reveals that those who were not fond of Petra Venj's power planned assassination attempts to remove her.
2 Petra's Impressive Knife Trick
When Petra was the vendor on the Reef, some players caught her doing a floating knife trick. It wasn't until the first Forsaken mission cutscene that players knew Petra had telepathic abilities. In the cutscene, Cayde-6 asked Petra to show the Guardian her knife trick.
Even Spider commented on her unique ability in the Wrong Side of Right lore. Spider explains, "Petra tossed her knife. Caught it with her mind so it hung, glinting in the dim light, over her head. Then let it fall back into her palm."
1 Her Unexplained Eye Patch
Petra Venj has always had an eye patch with the Reef symbol covering her left eye. Also, she has a scar on the left side of her jaw. Her eye patch could be for character design based on her time spent as a Corsair fighting the Fallen.
However, there's a possibility that there could be a much deeper backstory to her patch, as with Asher Mir's arm or Eris Morn's eyes. Yet, unlike Eris and Asher, there is no mention of Petra's eye patch in the lore.