Destiny 2 – Who is The Witch Queen? It may not be who you think it is…

Tomorrow we are going to finally find out more about The Witch Queen expansion during Bungie’s Destiny 2 Showcase and we should find out more about the story, the main characters, and the premise for The Witch Queen expansion coming early 2022. But who is the Witch Queen? We’ve been led to believe this whole time that it’s Savathun, however, Bungie may be doing a little sleight of hand. Today I am going to look at all the candidates who could be the Witch Queen by delving into the lore.

At this point, roughly 24 hours before The Witch Queen reveal we don’t know much about the expansion and the story. Our current estimates are The Witch Queen expansion is going to be focused on Savathun and the Hive, The Darkness is likely to be involved somehow and we’re moving towards Lightfall, which sounds very ominous indeed.

I’m going to have a quick look back at the likely candidate here, Savathun, but then I’ll take an alternative look at a candidate for the true Witch Queen. Perhaps the one that’s been pulling the strings all along, with Savathun as her puppet.

But first, let’s discuss Savanthun.

Savanthun

Savathun, sister of Oryx, Hive God, and current Queen of the Hive is our prime candidate for being The Witch Queen. In Destiny 2 we first heard rumblings of Savanthun through the Strike Savathun’s Song on Titan. During the strike, our ghost scanned various Hive artifacts revealing clues that Savanthun was in control of a new brood of Hive and Taken since Oryx, The Taken King, and the brother of Savathun was now dead at the hands of the Guardian.

During Forsaken Savathun worked on gaining complete control over the Taken, and using the Dreaming City as a ‘murder battery’. This was a time loop maintained by Quria, and realized by Riven’s wish during the Last Wish, which maintained tribute to Savathun by violence within spaces looped or dilated time. Guardians had the choice of repeatedly striking down Dul Incaru or letting her complete her mission. Savanthun had us in checkmate.

Shortly prior to the Pyramids’ arrival, Nokris attempted to enter the Ascendant Realm by way of trickery, instead of the Sword-Logic. This attracted the attention of his aunt. Savathûn drew her nephew into her throne world and struck a bargain: in her plans to defy the Pyramids, she had taken notice of his necromantic power.

Recently in Season of the Splicer, Savanthun has been waging a war on the Last City through deception, working with Quria and enveloping the city in The Endless Night. This caused a rift in the Last City with Lakshmi-2 encouraging the people of the Last City to rise up against the Vanguard. Savanthun was featured in the lore Book, Beneath the Endless Night, and was walking through the streets, having taken the form of a human. It’s unclear at this time what Savathun wants. Does she want revenge for us killing her brother? Does she want to rule over the known Solar System? There is one interesting line in the lore that does provide clues, that she wants to rid herself of her worm

“Even here, basted in deception both ample and rich, the Worm cries ravenously. It has grown grotesque, skin taut, overfed, and still, it howls for more. It commands me to keep it alive.”

The Worms are disciples of the Darkness and draw their power directly from it. It is through a pact with the Worms that the ancestors of the Hive became the Hive and launched their conquest of the whole universe. All Hive are bound symbiotically by a larva from one of the five Worm Gods, which drives them to feed off constant conquest and destruction lest the Worm grows unsatisfied and consumes them instead.

It appears as if Savanthun wants to be rid of her worm, but maybe she needs help to do it?

Savathun seems like the primary candidate to be The Witch Queen, but there could be another. That other is Eris Morn.

Eris Morn

Eris Morn is a Hunter and member of the Hidden who serves the Vanguard as their expert on Hive lore. She is the sole survivor of the ill-fated fireteam led by herself and Eriana-3 that attempted to assassinate Crota after The Great Disaster. After discovering the growing threat of Savathûn and hints that the Darkness was closer to humanity than they believed, Eris returned to the Last City to warn the Vanguard before venturing once more to the Moon. There she uncovered the existence of a Pyramid beneath the surface and guided the Guardian in investigating its purpose and fighting the Daughters of Crota. Eris delved deep into the secrets of the Pyramid and the Darkness as the Black Fleet arrived in the system. Although sorely tempted by the power the Darkness offered, Eris formed an alliance with the Exo Stranger and The Drifter to learn how to utilize Stasis safely as a tool against their foes.

Eris appears to be good but is tempted by the Darkness. During Season of Arrivals, she acted as the conduit between messages from the Darkness and our Guardian. She’s seen to be wielding stasis during the cutscenes of Beyond Light, although we haven’t heard too much from her these past seasons. But I think that is all about to change leading up to the Witch Queen Expansion.

There is a lore book in the game called The Dark Future, which does leave clues as to where the story could be going. Now, this is called The Dark Future, so is perhaps one branching path of a potential future. We could avoid it of course, but it is an interesting perspective.

In this dark future the Bray Sisters, Ana, and Elsie (otherwise known as the Exo Stranger) are in hiding after a huge battle called The Bombardment, where the Tower fell at the hands of Savathun. They are on Europa, trying to revive Rasputin, The Warmind, using Clovis Bray’s technology to put Rasputin into an Exo body. As they search the damaged remains on Europa they find The Drifter’s dead body, clinging to the machinery.

Ana and Elsie successfully manage to bring Rasputin back as an Exo and make their way to the Last City to find an older and frail Zavala in the rubble. He’s lost his Light, and one leg… both torn away from him by Savanthun. Ikora is dead, buried beneath the Last City. Ana and Elsie want to take the fight to Savanthun once again, but Zavala warns them the Hive God is only a pawn to the true leader… Eris Morn.

In this Dark Future, Eris Morn commands armies of Dark Guardians and rules with a lust for violence and terror. The Traveler has abandoned humanity, leaving during the bombardment, just when they needed it the most. However, Ana and Elsie form a plan with the help of Rasputin’s new Exo form. They find plans for Ghaul’s Traveler restraining device used in the Red War onboard the crashed Almighty. The team with Zavala to make contact with Mara Sov, who’s now in command of The Leviathan. They find the Traveler and successfully trap with Ghauls machine.

They move against Eris Morn and the armies of Dark Guardians and Hive outside the Scarlett Keep on the Moon. Zavala harnesses the Light from the Traveler and Thunder crashes into the Scarlett Keep, bringing it down, killing himself and Savathun with it. However, Eris Morn moves against the allies of the Light. At a fateful moment, Ana Bray betrays Elsie and Mara Sov, by stabbing Mara through the heart, at the same time as swearing allegiance to Eris Morn. Elsie kills Ana in return through tearful eyes and swears revenge on Eris, just before Eris harnesses all her power of the Darkness into the Traveler, causing it to explode.

Then, she wakes up. She’s back in the Last City, at Cayde-6’s Hunter Vanguard ceremony. It wasn’t a dream, but she’s stuck in a time loop, forced to relive from this happy moment to the end of the Traveler. There has to be a way out she says, but what is it?

Really good stuff there in the lore, and I’d recommend reading The Dark Future, it’s a great bit of writing and offers up an alternative to the obvious Savathun.

We’re bound to find out more really soon about The Witch Queen. I’ll be looking out for the signs about heading towards The Dark Future, and I hope you will too. Let me know in the comments who you think The Witch Queen is going to be, plus give me your predictions for the Destiny 2 showcase tomorrow.