The Hive Gods have been some of Destiny’s most challenging foes. While they haven’t had a direct presence since Guardians defeated Oryx, the Taken King in the first game, their power and influence have still been felt in Destiny 2. This has come from Savathun’s trickery as Osiris, wielding a gentle and guiding hand since shepherding Crow to the Tower, as well as Xivu Arath’s Wrathborn in Destiny 2’s Season of the Hunt. While Savathun will soon make her full debut in The Witch Queen expansion, it is the latter of the Hive Goddesses, Xivu Arath, that Guardians may need to prepare to face.

In the different media shared for The Witch Queen expansion, hype around the new Lucent Brood and Savathun’s perversion of the Light in Destiny 2 has been consistently built up. The Hive Goddess will be the focus of the expansion’s story and her role in Destiny 2’s future will be important, but Xivu Arath has been set up as an entity that is almost innately tied to her sister. Throughout Season of the Lost, Xivu Arath has hunted Savathun, and with both the season nearing an end and The Witch Queen soon releasing, she could step out from the shadows to wage a war on the system that Guardians have been relatively blind to.

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The Drums of War in Destiny 2

destiny 2 dark ether cane

While Xivu Arath’s threat to the Light and the solar system has been well known in Destiny 2, until recently she has spent her time far away, engaged in a campaign of destruction and bloodshed against the Cabal Empire. This hasn’t left the Hive God of War out of sight and out of mind, but it has made her much less of a threat. With the Scorn and Hive that defected from Savathun doing most of the groundwork in the system, the true strength of Xivu Arath hasn’t been felt. There has been a change in this approach during Season of the Lost, though, with champions of Xivu Arath and her invading forces preparing to move from skirmishes to open war.

The first chapter of the season’s main lore book, Ripples, is a strong demonstration of this. It focuses on Empress Caiatl engaging a Hive Tomb Carrier on the edge of the Reef. The massive ship dwarfs the Cabal flagship in an event that is a clear display of power. For Xivu Arath, it is likely a tactic intended to shake her enemies as she greets the battle-hardened Cabal with unmatched power while the Awoken Queen Mara Sov watches from a distance. The chapter ends with the Cabal ramming the Tomb Carrier and attempting to board it, setting the stage for the war to come.

A second chapter takes a more passive approach, but one that speaks volumes more than a simple show of power. Kelgorath, a Hive Knight who is described as a champion of death, swears his service to Xivu Arath. While the hierarchy of the Hive is vast and many Knights, Wizards, and other ranked members of the species exist, Kelgorath stands out. It is made clear that his current strength and allegiance to the God of War comes from her defeat of Osiris and allowing him to drink from the Warlock’s Light. He is designated as a champion preparing himself for open war, hoping to purify himself of Savathun’s name in death.

Both of these events point toward Xivu Arath taking a more hands-on approach in the system. While her direction of the Scorn and the allegiance of Hive devoted to the Darkness is noteworthy, they haven’t been quite as severe as the more open conflicts of the past. With the release of The Witch Queen, however, Savathun’s throne world will be accessible in the Sol system, providing the perfect opportunity for Xivu Arath to attack both her sister and humanity at the same time. This is something that is supported even further by images of Scorn appearing throughout Savathun's throne world in promotional materials for The Witch Queen.

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Xivu Arath in The Witch Queen

Destiny 2's Hive God of War, Xivu Arath, stands with her hand resting on the hilt of her Knight blade in front of a green raid symbol from the game.

If Xivu Arath does begin an open campaign in the Sol system following the release of The Witch Queen expansion, then her role over the next year could be much larger than it has been up to this point. While players aren’t likely to see Xivu Arath make a full debut like Savathun will next month, she is probably going to be more present. Similar to how the seasons following the release of the Beyond Light expansion built up to Savathun, the seasons in Year 5 of Destiny 2 could be entirely geared toward the conflict that Xivu Arath is bringing to the system.

It doesn’t seem like Savathun will be as easily defeated as Oryx was, and her use of the Light likely means that she’s going to continue to be in Destiny 2 for a while, even if her role is still unknown. Since she’s already a target for Xivu Arath, their struggle against one another will likely play into the game’s future, and a shaky armistice could form between the Last City, the Reef, and Savathun as they try and tackle the threat of the Hive God of War. This approach might make Xivu Arath more of a secondary antagonist, but following The Witch Queen expansion and its enemies, Year 5 could make her the primary focus of Destiny 2.

This, of course, is only likely to come to fruition if Savathun can uphold her promise about Osiris. If Savathun was lying and she has killed Osiris or he was already dead, then Xivu Arath could step into the spotlight much sooner than expected with Savathun succumbing to the rage and pain of the Vanguard. Rather than her playing a quiet role as her sister did in Year 4, Xivu Arath may become an active character, with each season leading up to Lightfall giving her a larger role as she bathes the solar system in blood.

Given her connection to Sagira’s death, Osiris’s disappearance, and these possible seasons, Xivu Arath’s role could usher some of the most turbulent events in Destiny 2’s history. When Uldren Sov killed Cayde-6, it resulted in the rise of the Scorn, with the player’s Guardian and Petra Venj hunting him down. It was a major turning point for Destiny 2 and set in motion events even up to Season of the Lost's set up for The Witch Queen. The hunt for Osiris may be doing something similar, preparing to turn Xivu Arath into the ultimate evil with her wielding far more power than Uldren Sov. Her role in The Witch Queen and Year 5 could be the framework for the campaign she’ll spearhead in Lightfall, with the next expansion's story being part of her first play to end her sister and become the last of the Hive Gods.

Destiny 2 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

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