I will edit later with more details but I think this could be a rich vein Read these http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dark_Ages http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decline_of_the_Roman_Empire The Golden Age = The Roman Empire The Fallen = barbarians (Goths, Vandals etc) The Hive = rise of monotheism (Muslim empire and the Papacy) The City = Florence, the city-state that birthed the Renaissance What I'm saying is that these are the themes Bungie are exploring. Being a citizen in the remains of a once great empire, now overrun by outside forces, barely understanding what has been lost and how it happened. Historians still debate why Rome declined. Centuries ago they literally just referred to a darkness which enveloped civilisation. Similar to how The Speaker describes the world in Destiny.