With Destiny 2: Season of the Arrivals underway and Destiny 2: Witch Queen in the queue for 2021, a lot of fans are asking an important question: Who is Savathûn? The enigmatic Witch Queen has been popping up throughout Destiny and Destiny 2, but recently her plans and activities have had major ramifications for the inhabitants of the Sol System.

Savathûn, at the most basic level, is the Witch Queen, the sister of Oryx the Taken King. Oryx, along with his sisters Savathûn and Xivu Arath, controlled the Hive for as long as the Hive has existed in the universe. Oryx was originally summoned to the Sol System after Guardians defeated his son, Oryx, which disrupted the live-giving tribute that Crota and his brood provided. While Oryx was handily defeated by Guardians in the King’s Fall Raid, Savathûn was positioned to take his place as the new ruler of the Taken Throne and the most powerful of the Hive.

Oryx was defeated because of what Savathûn sees as a fatal flaw in his zealotry. The Hive follow the doctrine of the Sword Logic, which states that if you cannot protect yourself from death, you deserve to be defeated by a more powerful entity. The Sword Logic is what grants Hive their immense paracausal power, as they kill more and more powerful beings, they gain the ability to shape the universe more and more to their will. Oryx was a devout follower of the Sword Logic, and this was ultimately his downfall, because once he was defeated by Guardians, the Sword Logic proved that they were superior. Savathûn, on the other hand, has grown beyond the zealotry of her family.

But, I hear you asking, who is Savathûn, and why should I care? Don’t worry, I have the answers to your question. Savathûn is the Witch Queen, the Swordbreaker, the Queen of the Taken Throne, and probably one of the largest threats in Destiny’s history. When she was first mentioned in The Taken King, Savathûn was the cunning and enigmatic sister of Oryx and Xivu Arath, a mysterious figure who delighted in gaining knowledge and deceiving her opponents. Savathûn’s biggest boon was a gift to her, from Oryx. When Savathûn secretly tricked Crota into opening a rift in Oryx’s Ascendent Throne World, an army of Vex were unleashed onto the Hive. This Vex contingent was led by Quiria, Blade Transform. A powerful Vex Mind, Quiria quickly began to understand Hive Sword Logic, and went as far as to create a contingent of Vex Priests to worship the larvae of worms they discovered. Quiria would ultimately be Taken by Oryx, and given to Savathûn for study. Quiria had been left with an amount of free will, but Savathûn had planned for this outcome from the beginning. With a powerful Taken Vex Mind under her command, Savathûn began forming more and more complex plans using Quiria as a supercomputer of Hive magic.

Savathûn’s power became evident following the Red War. When the Taken assaulted a Water Purification plant in the EDZ, Guardians who worked as a Strike Team to cleanse the Taken onslaught discovered a Taken Red Legion commander, something that should have been impossible. The Red Legion had appeared in the Sol System following Oryx’s death, so for a member of the Red Legion to have been Taken, it would mean that something was taking new targets. Things, however, truly came to a head when the Scorned Barons and Uldren Sov escaped from the Prison of Elders. Guardians discovered, after defeating the Barons and killing Uldren, that the Awoken Capital, the Dreaming City, was home to the last known Ahamkara, Riven. When Oryx originally entered the Sol System, he took Riven, but not fully. Riven retained a level of free will, but was still subject to the ruler of the Taken throne. With aid from Quiria, Savathûn ascended to the Taken Throne and communed with Riven, who took interest in her new plan.

When Guardians assaulted the Dreaming City to kill Riven and destroy her Taken Heart, Savathûn’s plan was put into motion. The death of Riven started a cycle within the limited range of the Dreaming City. Every three weeks, an ascendant plane bound to Dûl Incaru would open. If Guardians killed Dûl Incaru, then the Dreaming City would reset to the state it was three weeks prior. If they failed to, however, Dûl Incaru and the Taken would corrupt the whole of the Dreaming City, turning it into an unsalvageable and twisted home for the Hive and Taken. Either way, Savathûn wins. If the Guardians continue to reset the loop, she continues to receive tribute from the repetitive death taking place. If Guardians allow the loop to be broken, Savathûn gains a powerful foothold in the Sol System which she could easily use to assault the Reef.

Savathûn’s biggest plans are yet to come, however, she is actively working to hinder Guardians during the Season of Arrivals. With the aid of Nokris, the forsaken son of Oryx, Savathûn is preventing Guardians from easily receiving transmissions from the Pyramid ships. If Guardians were to learn more from the Pyramids, Savathûn worries that the combination of Light and Dark would be too great of a threat. As we know, however, her interference will only last so long, and come September, Guardians will take up the power of Stasis on Europa

Tyler Krasnai
Editor, NoobFeed
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