Destiny 2 has built up huge world in the almost four years since it was released. The looter-shooter has released epic campaigns and expansions with raids, dungeons, and strikes for players to fight through. Amidst all the shooting and looting in Destiny 2, there has also been a tremendous amount of lore. Each season and expansion has turned the page of the series' story, and next year the long-awaited Witch Queen Expansion will release.
While the game’s August 24 showcase for The Witch Queen expansion will likely touch on a myriad of topics and build up even more hype, Savathun herself has been pulling strings from the shadows for centuries. Many players may be used to the Taken and the effect Oryx had on the Sol system, but Savathun's scheme could be much more sinister than her brother. Her beginnings are similar but her plans, actions, and intentions are far different.
Destiny: The Beginning of Savathun
The Hive live by the Sword Logic instituted by Oryx, the Taken King, and none have known this better than Savathun and Xivu Arath. Both sisters were slain by Oryx at one point, only to be revived to continue his bidding. While the royal trio had long worked with and against each other, Savathun has shown herself more cunning than either of her siblings. Years before Season of the Splicer, Savathun the Witch Queen had tricked her nephew Crota to open a portal to Oryx’s Ascendant Realm so that the Vex could access it.
This led the Vex to create Quria, the Dreaming Mind, and while the war for the ground around the portal was a stalemate, Oryx ultimately gifted Savathun a Taken Quria. This gift fed into the endgame that the Witch Queen had been planning all along. She used her new Vex toy for complex equations and working out ways to take advantage of the Sword Logic and Worm God’s hunger to strip herself of any weakness. This led her to learn the inner machinations of black holes and venture inside of one.
Destiny 2's Expansions
The Witch Queen uses this kind of forethought for every action she has taken throughout Sol. While the Tower feared Oryx’s Taken power, it is the sharpness of Savathun’s mind that Guardians should be wary of in the coming battles. Both the Forsaken and Shadowkeep expansions were facilitated by the schemes that the Witch Queen had concocted. Controlling and guiding the Taken Ahamkara, Riven, and the Awoken Prince, Uldren Sov.
With the actions of both, Savathun was able to express control in the Dreaming City in Destiny 2's Forsaken expansion and plunge it into a perpetual time loop. A loop that, if interrupted, restarts and continues to generate sacrifices to feed her Worm’s hunger. However, this time loop allows Dul Incaru, the Eternal Return, to locate the Awoken’s Distributary. In both defeat and victory, Dul Incaru generates a scenario where Savathun wins.
Shadowkeep offered Savathun a way to eliminate her brother’s bloodline and defy the will of the Darkness simultaneously. As the Pyramids sought to establish contact with the players' Guardians, Savathun worked to break away from their constraints. By using the Hidden Swarm and Nokris, Savathun delayed the Guardian’s contact with the Darkness. Simultaneously she kept the Vanguard’s attention on the Moon and the Hive. For these actions, she was branded a heretic by other Hive, but it is clear her power has not wavered much since this direct defiance of the Pyramids and the Darkness.
The Taken Ahamkara, Riven
Despite all that she has done, it may be safe to say that players have only experienced the simplest taste of Savathun’s power. The Taken Ahamkara, Riven, said that her connection to Savathun as a Taken offered her a glimpse into the mind of the Witch Queen. Savathun’s actions through Riven, and in Forsaken, were merely the Hive Goddess playing. Her bond allowed Riven to see her true intention, and the Ahamkara hoped that the Witch Queen decided to continue to play rather, than follow through with her goals.
Guardians have not shown themselves to be so lucky though, and the actions of Savathun appear to have become more directed at amassing an army capable of stamping out both Light and Dark. She coaxed Xivu Arath to destroy the Cabal capital world, her Crown of Sorrows is responsible for the corruption of the Glykon and, more than likely, the death of Emperor Calus. The Season of the Chosen and Season of the Splicer have shown clearly that Savathun will either have others submit to her power, or she will bring about their demise.
Savathun's Interest in The Light
As Savathun’s personal application of the Hive Sword Logic plays out, it is also important to consider what else the Witch Queen may be trying to do. Alongside her definitive interest in the Cabal and Vex, she has also had her sights set on the Last City, Guardians, and the Traveler. While she has already defied the Darkness, it also seems she has been siphoning power and Light from the Traveler.
There is evidence for this in the names of the Taken that interfere during the Hawkmoon mission in the EDZ. Each Taken commander bears the title Lightdrinker, Lightbinder, Lighteater, or Lightstealer, which all suggest that Savathun has also taken a direct interest in the power of the Light itself. Given her willingness to align with whatever means she sees necessary for her plans, it is not far-fetched to think Savathun has taken a similar approach to the Guardians.
If Savathun were to tap into the power of the Light like Guardians with Stasis, then the Traveler may be part of her plans for the future. This will also likely involve the corruption of some of the most notable pillars of Light that players have come to know.
Savathun's Song in Destiny 2
Osiris, Eris Morn, Crow, Zavala, Shaxx, and the player have all heard the droll infectious tone of Savathun’s Song. The viral verse is without lyrics, but its melody can be heard time and time again, particularly in Shadowkeep’s accompanying soundtrack. While it may be nothing more than a warning or signal flare of Savathun’s presence, it is important to take into consideration.
The Witch Queen derives her power from the confusion that she causes. The failure of weak minds to decipher her intentions, and the efforts of formidable foes to combat her plans, helps to fuel her. With a calling card that is so inconspicuous and yet so infectious, she may continue to grow her power and spread her influence. Whether or not the song signifies the corruption of those that recite or hear it may be beside the point for Savathun.
The song itself could be no more than a rallying cry: A notice to her enemies that she is already among them, unseen and unheard. In their confusion and their efforts to discover what she is up to they feed the Witch Queen power. Savathun’s Song may be the beginning of the end, bolstering her power before The Witch Queen expansion releases next year.
Destiny 2 is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.