Okay lore people, let’s talk THE WITNESS. So after the third week of hearing Ahsa talk about the Witness, there are a couple of ideas that are going around. So I want to mention those ideas, see if I can get a competent answer, and figure out more about the Witness. But first, let’s do a recap of the Witness. The Witness is a being that, from what we know, has basically almost always been around. His oldest disciple was Rhulk, from what we know, and The Witness has been gathering more and more disciples. It was the Witness and Rhulk who caused the hive to be created, and it was The Witness who chased the traveler everywhere. He destroyed Riis, caused the collapse, and from his ship, we can gather that the Witness destroyed civilisations that used darkness. From Witch Queen, we know that it isn’t the darkness, but a voice in the darkness, and one who created the sword logic, and has enough rage to burn the cosmos. Did I cover it all? Anyways, the Witness made the portal in Lightfall, and is presumably in a garden like place for some reason. That’s from the trailer. But… doesn’t the Witness want to destroy basically everything? The Witness wants to bring about the final shape. And this is why some things don’t match. So let me get to theorising already. [u]The Witness is the other side of the Gardener[/u] The Witness, in the recent weekly lore of Season of the Deep, was described as being one of two halves. We can assume the other half is the Gardener, not the traveler, as we know that the Traveler is controlled by an entity, one that we have not seen yet. So is the theory of Ulan-Tan really right? Could the Witness be the other half of the Gardener? Could the Witness and the Gardener be two halves that will make the final god, aka the final shape? Well, maybe. But there is evidence to disprove this. In the Unveiling lore book, we get writing from what appears to be the Winnower, disproving of the actions of the Witness, since the Witness wants to kill everything. But at the same time, The Witness stepped into a portal, which is kinda weird if it really wants to kill everyone. So…what is it’s goal? [u]The Witness is the Winnower, and is trying to reset the game[/u] If the Witness really is the Winnower, which is still very shaky since Savathun literally said he was the voice in the darkness, and the Winnower is the darkness, then maybe the Witness went into the portal in order to reach the Gardener, and reset the flower game, thus killing everyone. Still shaky, I know. But there may be a way to prove that the Witness is the Winnower. You see, from what we know, the Witness seems to be a collection of minds, that are able to encompass a large area, and the Witness seems to be connected to the egregore. They’re it’s little spies, which allow him to see what’s happening and know what is happening wherever the egregore are. Now, Strand is also about connection and memory. So is Stasis(Stasis is part of the darkness because it plays a larger role in the darkness. Stasis is a way to create stillness, and a way to take control. Darkness is about memory, connectedness, and feelings. Stasis is feelings, and strand is connectedness.) Now from the Unveiling lore book, the Winnower and the Gardener dives into the flower game. But…here’s where it gets kinda insane. The Gardener is nowhere to be found except the traveler, which is controlled by an entity. It’s a machine, and clearly the entity has lost the link to the traveler because of the Witness. I think the Witness may be the Winnower, and the land in the portal is the real flower game. After all, Light and Dark are very similar, and there is a connection between the Light and the Darkness, which is what the Witness wields. The Witness is trying to get to the Gardener to end the flower game, and the game is based on whatever is through the portal. That’s the real place. But it’s just a theory. [u]The Witness was uplifted by the Traveler[/u] If this theory is true, it would explain why the Witness harbours rage against the traveler, and why the Witness would want it dead…or not since it didn’t kill the traveler. It just…silenced it? What’s it’s real goal? It has enough rage to burn the cosmos, so we know it’s angry. If the Gardener betrayed it, then it would explain, once again, why the Witness is angry. But that would mean the Witness would have to know the Gardener, which is the being that controls the Traveler. So…that just leads back to the above theories. The Witness knows the Gardener. We know that for certain, so it is kinda clear to say that the Witness is trying to maybe either kill the Gardener, or reset the flower game. But even then, we don’t know what the final shape of the Witness is. Every disciple has their own final shape, but it’s the Witness’s that matters. Who knows? Let me know your theories in the comments. I’d be happy to hear other thoughts on this. The Witness is very intriguing. It’s a well packaged enigma that we are slowly finding out. Thanks for reading this, and have a good day guardians!