My friends and I have concocted our own theories on the Fallen, supported of course by Grimoire information. I'll try to regurgitate the information here, for you guys to critique and theorize about. Disclaimer: This TL;DR was stripped directly from an email, specifically from me to Destiny YouTuber Wally.(https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnwU531b_ZqUe_YXQRL7asQ) As we already know, The Fallen are essentially interstellar transients. Bandits, scavengers, pirates, all these terms and more describe their actions and ranks. Like human nature, they band together under different flags and fight amongst each other as they strive for dominance. Yet, there is a symbol that all Fallen factions seem to display. Be it the House of Winter on Venus or the Devils pillaging Earth, this symbol (http://img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130219132206/destinypedia/images/9/97/Fallen_Logo.png) can be found on banners, as if to be shown as a sign of pride or glory. Now, it's very possible that it's simply a common message that alludes our understanding, but the frequency and transparency of it's appearance leads me to believe it's the symbol of their old empire, an emblem hearkening back to a greater time long passed. This is not unlike the prevalence of the American flag accompanying allusions to old world found in the Fallout series, as all factions revere the old world is a similar fashion, regardless of ideologies or beliefs. Transitioning into my main theory however, is the connection between the Fallen "Golden Age" and their Servitors. The Grimoire cards repeatedly state that the Servitors were one of, if not the pinnacle achievement of Fallen society. They are shown to be given a near-godlike societal status in the eyes of The Fallen, who will sacrifice themselves for their safety at a moments notice. The question must then be asked, why are these spherical automatons so precious to The Fallen? The Grimoire states that they provide Fallen troops with "Ether," a substance they need to survive, but I believe this dependence goes far further than one would assume. Since playing the beta, I found it odd that Fallen foot soldiers seemed to have no blood/fluid that emitted upon their death, only white light. While I initially shrugged this off as the game's T-rating, I eventually started questioning this assumption in the full release. The Hive decay into ash upon death, the Vex emit the white bloodlike-fluid that gives them life, and the Cabal clearly bleed, albeit with black blood. However, despite the organic nature of The Fallen, their deaths simply involve a white gas, evaporating from their wounds upon fatal injury. The Grimoire states that it is their souls leaving them behind, and thats about the time where my theory came into fruition. Perhaps The Fallen don't bleed because their blood is already gone, all thats left in them is the Ether distributed by the servitors. The Fallen don't breathe in ether like an alternative to oxygen to avoid suffocation, it literally keeps them alive. My friends and I strong believe The Fallen are all physically dead, and have been for hundreds, if not thousands of years. The Servitors give them the greatest gift imaginable, the gift of eternal life. The lack of bodily fluids leaves me to believe that The Fallen are but shambling corpses, cold skeletons with their consciences and life sustained perpetually by Ether. [b]EDIT[/b]: The Cabal's black blood appears to instead be fuel for their suits, as it is shown to also be inside their vehicles and infrastructure. This is supported by the Sepiks Prime and Archon Aksor strike descriptions, which both reference the alleged link between Servitors and souls. Cayde tasks you with killing the Archon Priest "before his soul can be restored." I suspect this to be the Servitors reanimating his corpse (or near-death husk), pumping the pod he is encased in full of Ether. Similarly, the Prime Servitor in the Devil's lair is told to be holding the souls of the Devils, inferring that it is able to revive them as dregs to battle the city once again. While it could just be a figure of speech involving devil mythology, Commander Zavala may have been speaking somewhat literally when he instructed you to "send their souls screaming back to hell." Perhaps killing Servitors (or just primes) will destroy the souls of slain fallen they were holding, denying them from reviving ever again. It's very probable that Fallen lose both their memories and strength upon death, as Kells and higher-rank Fallen seem to display more self-preservation. It's also possible though that stronger Fallen leaders can be revived with memories and strength intact, as Aksor is revived and appears to retain his memories prior to his imprisonment. To be continued in Part 2 Edit: lolsorryforDestiny'sinvertedthreadformat.