Mad about Destiny not having a fleshed out story? Don't worry, I figured it out for ya. Let me start this from the beginning... What YOU already know from the game: Whilst humans where exploring, they found The Traveler, a giant sphere capable of terraforming worlds, and other miraculous things. Humanity had a "golden age" under the protection of The Traveler, until a mysterious force known as "The Darkness" started invading. The darkness destroyed much of humanity and the traveler was enfeebled, only allowing it to protect one city on Earth, the Last City. The traveler created ghosts to bring back certain dead warriors to life, to be blessed with it's powers and fight the darkness. You gear up, you fight baddies, and you eventually defeat the vex's heart of the Black Garden. But here's what you didn't know. Think about the enemies you fought along the way. What do they have in common? They are all humanoid. The few that do not stand on two legs, upright, are machines. Think about it. Devil walkers. Shanks. Harpies. They're all machines. So that means they weren't naturally evolved. But what does that mean? What am I getting at? The enemies you're fighting? They're you. They are humanity. Now that might sound crazy, but let me explain. The "Traveler" is quite aptly named. It was created by who knows who, but it was designed to keep humanity on track until it evolved the way it was supposed to. What the speaker wouldn't tell you is that it "Travels" through time to achieve this goal. The problem? It has to bring back all the failed humanities along with it. Vex. They are humans that wanted to achieve immortality. Why do you think goblins, and hobgoblins have a skull VISIBLE in their abdomen? Humans tried to make undying bodies and failed. So the Traveler abandoned them. Fallen. These humans grew too greedy trying to plunder the riches of the newly discovered Galaxy, and evolved from the masters of the universe that humanity was meant to be to lowly space pirates only concerned with loot. So the Traveler abandoned them. Hive. They are the result of a worlds wide sickness that humanity accidentally unleashed, one that infected the brain, took over the body, and gave the humans a "Hive" mind. Recognizing that they were unable to be saved, the traveler abandoned them. Same with the Exos and the Awoken. They wandered from the intended path of humanity, so the Traveler took away their chance to be the dominant race. HOWEVER, the difference here is although both the Exos and the Awoken strayed from the intended path, they KEPT what makes them human, unlike the Hive, the Fallen, and the Vex, which lost everything it means to be human. This is why they where blessed with the power of light. So now, as it stands, the Traveler deems the current humanity to be the worthy rulers of the universe, and after so many tries is too run down to start over anyways. So the Traveler is offering all the light it has left to the guardians, so they can bring the true Humanity to the top of the universe, above all the failed humanities before it. Will humanity succeed in this final chance? Or will the universe never have a ruler? It is up to you, guardians. EDIT: if you ever wondered why the Traveler gave humans longer life spans, it is because they are the chosen race.