Catch Up on Destiny’s Story Before Rise of Iron’s Release

Destiny 1.0

Sometime in the distant future, a mysterious orb drifted out from space and settled in our solar system. This unknown entity would be called The Traveler, and thanks to its advanced technology, would usher in an unprecedented era for human technology. Dubbed “The Golden Age,” this time period saw advancements in everything from space travel to artificial intelligence to weaponry. However, the good times cannot go on forever, and centuries later, an unknown force simply called “The Darkness” attacked. The Darkness’ power was beyond that of the humans and their allies, which forced them to the brink of extinction. This caused The Traveler to drift towards Earth and hover over the last bastion of humanity that withstood the repeated attacks of The Darkness.

Soon after, The Traveler began to create and release A.I. companions called “Ghosts,” who were tasked with bringing back to life humans, their mechanical creations called Exos, and a new race born out of humanity’s collapse called The Awoken. These forces were meant to bolster the defense of the last city and stronghold of Earth, The Tower.

Destiny begins with your Guardian awakened by your Ghost in a desolated area called Old Russia. Despite being in a daze and having just come back to life, the alien race known as The Fallen begin to chase your character through a great wall. This will eventually lead to your character finding a ship and escaping, barely, before more powerful Fallen can arrive. You’re then introduced to the only known link to our mysterious floating sphere in the sky, The Speaker. He tasks you with returning to Earth to help reconnect probes, fight off Fallen enemies, and genuinely clean up the mess that was left behind. There are notes of a lost A.I. Warmind called Rasputin, and during one of your explorations, you run into a race called The Hive, who instantly attack the Guardian without mercy.

In order to learn more about them and stop their spread, you are sent off the Moon to locate a dead Guardian conveniently located right outside of a Hive stronghold. It turns out that The Hive are creating a force large enough to invade and capture Earth. So, being the trouble starting Guardian that you are, one of the first things you do is destroy an ancient powerful weapon called the Sword of Crota, stop all communications to their “god,” and disrupt a ritual meant to sap The Traveler’s energy away.

Eventually, you are called away to Venus by the mysterious Exo woman called The Stranger, who decides to introduce you to another alien threat, The Vex. She explains that The Vex are a mechanized race that has infected a variety of different planets, spreading their power and authority across the galaxy. The Stranger implores the Guardian to find their ancient city, The Black Garden, and rip out whatever heart remains. The Stranger assures that doing this will begin to heal The Traveler and help humanity in fighting The Darkness. However, you will need help for this fight and thus you jet over to a place called The Reef, where the Awoken Queen Mara Sov lives.

In order to gain her trust and help in finding The Black Garden, her brother (and Hot Topic enthusiast) Uldren Sov tells you to prove yourself by slaying a Vex Gate Lord. After defeating this massive mechanized monster, the Guardian returns with its head and is told that using the Gate Lord’s eye grants access to The Black Garden. The only problem is that this area is located on Mars, currently a warzone between the Vex and a militaristic army of turtle-like people called The Cabal. As one might expect, this doesn’t stop the Guardian from disrupting both Cabal and Vex installations.

This quest for The Black Garden leads the Guardian to an underground area called The Buried City, where you find an old A.I. Warmind that is now under control of Rasputin. After fighting your way through the Vex, you learn that they are being summoned back to The Black Garden, which allows you to sneak into this alternate dimension. The only knowledge we have comes from our Ghost, who explains that The Black Garden is not on “any map of known space and time.” Despite this, you fight your way through hordes of Vex and eventually come to a large open courtyard where dozens of ancient Vex are worshiping a black, beating heart. Using its power, the black heart brings to life several golem-like Vex statues until it is fully drained of its energy and explodes.

Soon after, you return to The Tower where The Speaker gives a rousing speech to everyone reminding them that this is only the first battle. The vanilla campaign ends with the mysterious Stranger giving you her weapon and vanishing off into The Tower. However, the threat of The Hive has only begun as their forces begin to swell once more on the Moon.

The Dark Below

Soon after the events of the original story, a former Guardian named Eris Morn lands at The Tower in hopes of warning the Guardians of an ancient Hive Prince’s return. Named Crota, he has sent his legions down to Earth, lead by his general Omnigul, in hopes of capturing the Warmind Rasputin. She is soon intercepted by the Guardian, and in the fight, her massive Hive Ogre called the Might of Crota perishes. You are then sent to the Moon in hopes of destroying a crystal that has some of Crota’s soul trapped inside of it.

Once complete, you are sent back down to Earth in order to fill up an urn with the ashes of fallen Hive soldiers and a legendary knight called Urzok, the Hatred. Soon after filling the urn, you’re sent out to slay a variety of powerful Hive soldiers called the Heart of Crota, Eyes of Crota, and Hand of Crota. Once these beast have been destroyed, you move on to the last chain in Crota’s command, Omnigul. Chasing her through a destroyed factory on Earth, the Guardian corners her and eventually puts an end to her powerful magic.

Despite all of these efforts, both Eris and the Guardian could not stop Crota’s resurrection. Six Guardians are quickly assembled and sent into the Hive stronghold located deep within the Moon. After completing a series of challenges, including a series of absurdly unsafe bridges, the team slays the Hive Prince with his own sword. The Hive have been pushed back… for now. Congrats, you’ve finished The Dark Below.

House of Wolves

With the Hive forced back from Earth, the power struggles between the various alien forces have shifted. Capitalizing on this, a mysterious group only known as the Nine break a mighty Fallen Kell (leader) out from a prison deep in The Reef. The leader of the House of Wolves, Skolas, believes that he will be the Fallen ruler to unite all of the different houses and become Kell of Kells. In a desperate effort to contain these Fallen pirates, Mara Sov invites all Guardians to her outpost in The Reef, allowing her chosen embassies Variks the Loyal and Petra Venj to guide our Guardian to Skolas and his pirate army.

First sent to Venus, the Guardian fails in stopping Skolas from gaining support with the House of Winter. Fortunately, things on Earth are much more successful, with both the House of Kings and the House of Devils prevented from allying themselves with Skolas. Skolas is then tracked down to the mysterious Vex stronghold the Vault of Glass, where him and his barons are attempting to steal their time-altering technology. After fighting through waves of Fallen enemies, the Guardian traps Skolas on top of a spire above Venus. Skolas is weakened enough for Petra to capture him and transport him to Variks’ Prison of Elders.

Even after Skolas’ defeat, Petra assigns the Guardian to hunt down the remaining barons and generals that escaped capture during the attack on Venus. Variks also offers three Guardians the chance to enter his area known as the Prison of Elders and execute Skolas once and for all.

The Taken King

Destiny’s next adventure begins with a giant ship only known as the Dreadnaught appearing in Saturn’s orbit. This massive frigate is commanded by Hive leader and father of Crota, Oryx. He, as one can expect, has taken offense to the Guardian killing his son and has come to our solar system for revenge. But first, the Awoken fleet launches an all-out attack on the Dreadnaught led by both Mara and Uldren Sov. This is unsuccessful: Oryx channels his energy and uses a massive energy cannon that wipes out the Awoken fleet. (Uldren is later revealed to have survived, but Mara is still MIA.)

After this failed attack, the Guardian’s sent to a Cabal base on a distant Mars moon that has sent out various distress signals. The base is in shambles, with Cabal soldiers desperately trying to flee an unknown terror that has infected every portion of their installation. Oryx’s soul self shows up and attacks the Guardian, and eventually, his warped Taken forces begin appearing all over the Cabal base as the Guardian manages to escape.

During a discussion between the Vanguards of The Tower, Eris Morn interrupts and informs the group that Oryx plans to “take” and corrupt any Fallen, Hive, Cabal, and Vex soldiers he comes across so they can gain new properties and work for him. While the group deliberates what course of action should take place, Hunter Vanguard Cayde-6 tells the Guardian about obtaining a hidden stealth drive on Earth that could help slip past the Dreadnaught’s defenses. After fighting their way through Fallen, Hive, and Taken enemies, the Guardian obtains the stealth drive and gives it to Cayde. He and shipmaster Amanda Holiday install the new tech onto Eris’ ship, which the Guardian uses to sneak onto the Dreadnaught.

Once landed, the Guardian establishes a beacon near an open portion of the ship and learns that the Cabal have crash landed onto the Dreadnaught in an attempt to take control of the ship. Now with dozens of Guardians appearing on the Dreadnaught, various installations inside Oryx’s ship come under attack, including the massive weapon he used to devastate the Awoken fleet. With the ship damaged, the Guardians head to the moon to obtain a trapped portion of Crota’s soul to trick a massive doorway called the Rupture into thinking that they are Hive. The fight is fierce, but they end up escaping with their life and Crota’s soul.

The Guardian returns to the Dreadnaught, breaches the Rupture, and launches an all-out assault on Oryx. Despite a long and difficult battle, the mighty king seems to have been defeated. However, in an attempt to save his own life, Oryx fuses his Taken energy deep within his body, giving him new life and boosting his power. But before the king can be taken on once more, we are sent through various missions to defeat Taken forces that have spread across the solar system. Once the Guardians are properly equipped, six of them are sent back to the Dreadnaught to finish off The Taken King once and for all.

Fighting through the last of Oryx’s defenses is a difficult task, as they face not only his most powerful servants, but his Deathsinger daughters and monstrous creations. Eventually, the Guardians work their way to Oryx, who is now nearly the size of his damn ship, and slay the mighty ruler one last time. As Oryx’s corpse drifts off into space, the solar system is safe once again, and the Guardians return home.

Sadly, a new threat has begun to crop up as winter arrives in the Cosmodrome, forcing our ally Lord Saladin to call upon us. Whatever happens next with Destiny: Rise of Iron, one thing can be sure: the Guardians will fight until this new foe is destroyed.