Lemme guess, Cloak of Dredgen Yor? Cool. Never heard of it. [spoiler][quote][u.2:1.2] That a truth? [u.1:1.6] That's a fact. [u.2:1.3] Funny you'd make that distinction.[/quote] - Ghost Fragment: Thorn 2 The Last Word and Thorn Ghost Fragment series has been one of my favorite episodes from the Grimoire collection for a long time. I have read a bunch of different theories about the identity of Dredgen Yor, and this is mine. Am I claiming to know a fact? No. What I believe to have found holds as much truth as any other I've heard. [i]"The noble man stood. And the people looked to him. For he was a beacon - hope given form, yet still only a man. And within that truth there was great promise. If one man could stand against the night, then so too could anyone - everyone."- Ghost Fragment: Thorn[/i] This describes the identity of the Guardian who would become Dredgen Yor. "he was a beacon- hope given form" This describes the epitome of what a Guardian may be- the embodiment of hope. A beacon- a lighthouse, a navigational marker by which others may plot their course in life, an example to be followed. "If one man could stand against the night, then so too could anyone- everyone." This implies a Guardian of immense power, who it would seem could defeat the Darkness single handed. A hero for everyone to rally behind. [i]"When the man journeyed on, the people remembered. In his wake hope spread. But the man had a secret fear. His thoughts were dark. A sadness crept from the depths of his being. He had been a hero for so long, but pride had led him down sorrow's road. Slowly the shadows' whisper became a voice, a dark call, offering glories enough to make even the brightest Light wander. He knew he was fading, yet he still yearned. On his last day he sat and watched the sun fall. His final thoughts, pure of mind, if not body, held to a fleeting hope - though they would suffer for the man he would become, the people would remember him as he had been."- Ghost Fragment: Thorn[/i] As this hero's pride led him to seek the knowledge of the Darkness, to understand its power, he left behind him a legacy, people believed in him, and hope grew. In his last moments before being completely transformed and corrupted by the Darkness, he hoped for one thing- that they would remember him as he had been... which would protect the hope that he spread to them from being devoured. [i]And so the noble man hid himself beneath a darkness no flesh should touch, and gave up his mortal self to claim a new birthright. Whether this was choice, or destiny, is a truth known only to fate. In that cool evening air, as dusk was devoured by night, the noble man ceased to exist. In his place another stood. Same meat. Same bone. But so very different. The first and only of his family. The sole forbearer and last descendent of the name Yor. In his first moments as a new being, he looked down at his Rose and realized for the first time that it held no petals: only the jagged purpose of angry thorns.- Ghost Fragment: Thorn [/i] He didn't assume a new identity by simply changing his name. One man was gone, and another took his place. That was the price of learning the true knowledge of the Darkness... Who would fit this description? Not just any Guardian... only a truly exceptional Guardian, who yearned to understand the Darkness completely... [i]"You were a mighty warrior. I watched you at Six Fronts, and heeded the call of Saint-14 to appoint you Vanguard Commander, even when the Concordat claimed to have records proving you were a Golden Age experiment mis-incarnated as a human by an inept Ghost. Saint-14 assured me you were just a man without much patience for obfuscation.... And then it got worse, dabbling in thanatonautics, Ahamkara-lore, chasing after Xur and the tricks of the Nine. Launching expeditions into the Reef and beyond at a time when ships were irreplaceable. Your quest split Guardians along ideological lines. This was your greatest crime: Hunters chose to pursue your visions instead of protecting refugees, Titans assembled teams to chase the legendary Vault of Glass instead of striking the Fallen, and Warlocks turned away from the study of the Traveler in favor of your ultimate obsession... learning the exact nature of the Darkness... When debate became argument, and argument became acrimony, I realized you had already become a cult of personality, attracting Guardians who wanted a clear idea of why they were fighting, what they faced, and how they would ultimately win... I fear you have become as obsessed with the Vex as Toland was with the Hive. I've heard your own insane prophecies about pits and dead Hive kings. And of Crota, which now I cannot deny. " -Allies: Osiris[/i] Possibly the most powerful Warlock of all time, who was exiled from the City because of his voracious hunger for knowledge... He had created a cult of followers who believed in him, who saw him as a beacon of hope... He left, and pursued knowledge of the Darkness in his study of the Vex and Hive... [i]"The output is consistent with my readings at the Shrine of Oryx on the moon. Osiris believed all of the shrines were connected and went searching for their nexus. I think we found it. Did I tell you Osiris never returned?"- Ghost scan, Court of Oryx[/i] Thorn, being a Weapon of Sorrow, would take immense knowledge of the Hive to construct... Toland was able to create Bad Juju due to his extensive knowledge of the Hive... The only documented Guardian whose whereabouts are unaccounted for who was known to search out the secrets of the Hive was Osiris... The Ghost Fragment: Thorn Grimoire cards clearly show a Warlock brandishing the weapon, much like the Last Word cards show a Hunter. In response to: Dredgen Yor is a Hunter, what about The Cloak of Dredgen Yor, and Dredgen Yor's Rose, the Hunter Class Item and Artifact? What about The Mark of the Undying Mind? Clearly Hydras aren't Titans. The Scales of Eao? Ahamkara are Titans? There is very little to nothing clear about which class Dredgen Yor is, as he doesn't exhibit any class specific powers of any type. This isn't about "he used his self-res after Jaren shot him"... He still appears as a Guardian, but do his powers extend only to Thorn? [i][u.1:0.4] You are an infection. [u.2:0.4] I am that which will cleanse. [u.1:0.5] You are a monster. [u.2:0.5] Heh. An old friend once saw me as the same. He was right, and, had we met earlier, so too would you be. [u.1:0.6] You’d dare defend yourself – all you’ve done – as anything but monstrous? [u.2:0.6] No more than a hurricane. [u.1:0.7] Then you’re a force of nature? [u.2:0.7] I am all that is right. You may not see it – for lack of looking, or blind ignorance – but I am all that is good. - Ghost Fragment: Thorn 4[/i] [i]“Harmony within, hurricane without.” Meditate. Focus. Draw the static from within. The Arc is inside all life. You must feel it take hold, let it flow through, but not consume you. You are a conduit. Between sky and earth. Electricity and matter. Life and death. You are a weapon. -Stormcaller Subclass[/i] Osiris, corrupted by the Darkness and transformed to Dredgen Yor, has no harmony within... Only the raw uncontrollable power of the storm... He is the Hurricane... [i] [u.1:2.8] You claim to be a vessel, a hollow shell where once a man stood, but that is just a lie. The man is still in you. [u.2:3.1] There is no man here, I am now, and for the rest of time, only Dredgen Yor. [u.1:2.9] “The Eternal Abyss?” [u.2:3.2] So, not all the forgotten languages are dead. [u.1:3.0] Hide behind whatever titles you wish, it is all still a façade. No force of nature would play such games. [u.2:3.3] Games? [u.1:3.1] The cannon. You wish to tempt the boy. To spur him on and fuel his rage. There is intent there. The actions of a man, monstrous, mad or otherwise... you are nothing more. [u.2:3.4] And what value does your conclusion bring, flawed as it may be? [u.1:3.2] That a hurricane can only be weathered, not stopped. Not redirected. A force of nature is uncaring and without intent, but a man... [u.2:3.5] Yes? [u.1:3.3] A man is none of those things. [silence] [u.1:3.4] A man can be killed. [silence] [u.2:3.6] And there it is... [u.1:3.5] There what is...? [u.2:3.7] A sliver of hope. - Ghost Fragment, Thorn 4[/i] He disappeared as Osiris, leaving hope in his wake... and became the most feared and monstrous Guardian the world had ever known, who drove a boy, Shin Malphur, to harness all of his light to destroy the monster... He sought to learn of the Darkness in order to show each Guardian what they were capable of... That if he could stand against the dark, anyone could, everyone could.[/spoiler]