The Destiny franchise has always had a tumultuous relationship with its own lore and story telling. The struggles that the first game in the franchise had with its story are well documented thanks to court filings and leaks which revealed that the main campaign was gutted and changed multiple times. The end product shows this as the base campaign story is largely forgettable, with a good portion of the lore having been moved out of the game itself and into Grimoire Cards, unlockables that have to be read from Bungie's own website.

Destiny 2 improved this area significantly on day one, telling the story of the Red Legion invading the Tower and forcing the Vanguard to rediscover the light and fight back. However, it wouldn't be until the Forsaken expansion when Bungie really started to hit its stride in terms of lore and story telling. Thanks to unlockable lore under the Triumph menu as well as a well crafted story of revenge in the Forsaken campaign, Bungie has been producing some of its best story content in years.

RELATED: Destiny 2 Shadowkeep is the Next Chapter In the Main Campaign Story

This trend looks to continue into the Shadowkeep expansion which brings back the enigmatic character Eris Morn as well as the Moon. Still, between both Destiny games, Bungie has left more than a few story threats dangling. With the Shadowkeep expansion and upcoming seasonal content set to delve deeper into self contained story telling, these are the story lines that fans want answers to. Keep in mind that a few contain spoilers to Destiny 2 and its expansions like Forsaken, so players who are planning to jump in when the free-to-play New Light version launches in October should beware.

destiny 2 shadowkeep logo

8 Pyramid Ships

Arguably the biggest story thread in this list are the mysterious pyramid shaped ships seen at the end of the Destiny 2 campaign. Once the Traveler awakens, it sends a light wave outwards throughout the Solar System. As players see towards the end of the cinematic, the light continues spreading beyond the known reaches of the galaxy and catching the attention of these black, pyramid ships. At this point, they appear to start moving towards the source of the light wave: Earth.

Not much has been seen since that end cut scene from the vanilla campaign. Naturally, this has caused speculation to run wild in the community as it waits for answers. Bungie has also teased the return of these black ships as they can be seen in Mara Sov's Star Map found in the Queen's Court when presenting an offering during high curse weeks.

What everyone seems to be in agreement over, however, is that these pyramid ships are part of the Darkness, Destiny's faceless and least defined antagonist. With Shadowkeep right around the corner and Bungie promising to advance the main story line once more, players are expecting more than a few answers to this longtime enemy of the Traveler.

7 The Dreaming City Curse and Queen Mara Sov

This one has been gaining steam this week thanks to one of the lore entries in the Truth to Power book. The Dreaming City, the former home of the Awoken race and their Queen, Mara Sov, has been suffering under Riven's Curse for the better part of a year. Following the first ever clear of the Last Wish raid, a three week curse cycle has descended over the zone with apparently no end in sight. From a gameplay perspective, it keeps the area interesting as each week features new missions, content, and enemies to fight on a rotating schedule.

However, from a story perspective, the game is essentially stuck in neutral with no where to go. In an effort to try and move things forward, the community has discovered a lore entry in the Truth to Power book. The entry called act/choose/react is an interesting pick your own adventure style post that definitely has more than a few issues with its reliability, but one section introduces a possible solution. Specifically, it is said that reaching Light Level 999 and beating Dul Incaru solo in the Shattered Throne will unlock the true ending of the Dreaming City.

Regardless if this is a bit of a deception or not based on the admission that the outdated Light Level term was used, the fact is that once Shadowkeep launches, players will be able to finally attempt it. The upcoming expansion doesn't actually have a Power Level cap, so once players reach 960, they can continue growing in power using seasonal artifacts. There's no doubt that at least a few people will be attempting this challenge once Shadowkeep arrives.

6 The Drifter and The Nine

One of the more unique characters in Destiny 2 is the vendor known as The Drifter. Introduced with Forsaken, this charismatic rogue lightbearer is the main point of contact for all things Gambit related. Not much is known about The Drifter, except for the fact that there are many who don't trust him, he's very old, and he's able to control Taken using items called Motes. He's also been linked to a few notable groups like the Shadows of Yor as well as Guardians like Shin Malphur.

He was given his own season inside of the first Annual Pass and through cutscenes and lore from various Gambit guns or exotics like Malfeasance, players discovered that he's actually been in contact with The Emissary from the mysterious group called The Nine. Not much is known about this group either outside of the fact that the exotic weekend merchant Xur acts as their agent.

How this all connects is still a mystery and there's still a lot of details that are missing from both The Drifter and the Nine. With another planned Annual Pass on the way following Shadowkeep, perhaps more details will be given.

5 Savathun's Plan

One name that players have heard a lot of throughout Destiny 2 is the Hive Wizard, Savathun. Oddly enough, this is a character that has actually never been in the game, though players may have first discovered the Witch Queen's existence upon arriving on Saturn's moon Titan, where a new breed of Hive have infested the former colony. Worse yet, she's also responsible for destroying a Fireteam in the Savathun's Song strike, which appears to have been some sort of summoning ritual. With Nokris and Xol dead on Mars, the Hive there have begun calling to Savathun to return and lead them.

With her brother Oryx dead, Savathun seems to be more interested in becoming the leader of the Taken, also orchestrating The Dreaming City curse by taking control of Riven. She also attempted to control the Cabal Emperor Calus through a device known as the Crown of Sorrow, though the item was passed to his loyalist, Gahlran in an attempt to control the Hive. It backfired and Calus sent a team of Guardians to put down the corrupted Gahlran. With so much of the latest Destiny 2 content seemingly having been orchestrated by Savathun, it's likely only a matter of time before players get to face off against this emerging threat. With the Hive as the main enemy force in the upcoming Shadowkeep expansion, perhaps Savathun is ready to be the featured villain like her brother Oryx.

exo stranger

4 Exo Stranger

This odd and mysterious character was a central part of the first Destiny, appearing at various points during the campaign to keep tabs o the player without revealing anything about her motivations or intentions. Ultimately, the player receives The Stranger's Rifle from her at the end of the game, but no further clues as to what she's doing. Even more curious is that the character is voiced by Lauren Cohan of The Walking Dead fame, a major voice actor for a role that is so under utilized. Other reports indicate that this character was originally intended to be the assistant of Osiris, though the character's most notable claim to fame is the meme that was created from her voice line: I don't even have time to explain why I don't have time to explain.

While the mysterious Exo hasn't seen in Destiny 2, fans may have figured out her identity as Elsie Bray, sister to the NPC Hunter Ana Bray thanks to the lore tab for a number of exotic Warmind items like the G-335 Anseris Overdrive and Eon Drive. Perhaps this subtle lore addition is Bungie's way to closing the book on the Exo Stranger. Either way, the studio hasn't 100% confirmed if this running fan theory is fact and while it's unlikely that the Exo Stranger makes a return, more than a few players would be happy to see this character show up again.

3 Uldren Sov, The Guardian

While always distrustful of Guardians, the Queen's brother Uldren was given his chance in the spotlight in the Forsaken expansion, becoming one of the main antagonists throughout the story as he searched for his sister. Surprisingly, players later discovered that Uldren's plan ultimately unraveled, having been deceived by the visions he was having. Thought to be rescuing his sister by unlocking The Dreaming City, he was actually freeing the ahamkara known as Riven and was devoured by a Taken Primeval called Voice of Riven. Following the creatures defeat, Uldren was ultimately killed by Petra Venj alongside player's Guardian.

That's not where the former Prince's story ends though. One of the more shocking twists to Uldren's story came a few months later when a cutscene shows a Ghost called Pulled Pork scanning an area of The Dreaming City in an attempt to find its Guardian. It is ultimately revealed to be Uldren, as the Ghost revives him and makes him a light bearing Guardian at the expense of his former memories.

After that reveal, nothing else has been said about Uldren following that cutscene, leaving most players to wonder when the newly amnestic Guardian would be seen again. Without a connection to his past history, many players are wondering how he would be received at The Tower with characters like Ikora and Zavala fully aware of what he did to Cayde-6 at the start of the Forsaken campaign.

destiny 2 uldren cinematic

2 Hunter Vanguard Vacancy

Following Cayde's death at the start of Forsaken, his role as the Hunter Vanguard will have been left vacant for over a year when Shadowkeep launches. There's been no movement on who could take his place, though fans have been theorizing about which individual would take on that role. Names like Ana Bray, Shiro-4, Marcus Ren, and even Eris Morn have been brought up as possible replacements. Some have even mention the possibility of reviving Cayde and then rebooting him as Cayde-7.

However, one interesting theory puts Uldren Sov, Cayde's murderer, as the next Hunter Vanguard. While he may not be accepted by the others at the Tower, the thought does line up with a tape left behind by Cayde-6, indicating that whoever kills him must then take up his Vanguard Dare and assume his old position as Hunter Vanguard. Whether or not this is in the works for a future season in Destiny 2 is anyone's guess.

1 Variks, The Loyal and The Missing

The last major story line from the Forsaken campaign is the fate of Variks, the former Warden of the Prison of Elders, who's ordeal can be read in the Variks, The Loyal lore book from the Triumphs page. During the pre-Forsaken events, Variks was responsible for integrating the Scorn Barons into the Prison along with their leader and his former friend, Fikrul. Over time, Variks loyalty to the Awoken Queen began to waver after long talks with the imprisoned members of the Scorn, Uldren Sov and Fikrul. Eventually, Uldren used Variks doubts to essentially trick him into causing a massive prison break, directly leading to the death of Cayde-6 and sending the player down a path of revenge in the Forsaken campaign.

Using the prison break as cover, Variks took the mantle of Kell of House Judgement, boarded a ship full of ether and has fled to beyond Awoken space. It's unknown what has become of Variks, though his ultimate vision is to become the Fallen Kell of Kells, the defacto leader of this faction. What this could mean for the Guardians of The Last City is currently unclear.

Destiny 2: Shadowkeep releases October 1, 2019 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One, with a Stadia version also in development.

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Source: Destinypedia