A curious insignia for such a violent game. One could easily find its cuddly like, in a child’’s game. Nonetheless, it is a reward for finding 5 of the moon’s secret chests; appears on the moon’s architecture as well as the exotic weapon “Jade Rabbit”. Perhaps there is something more to this symbol... For those who are unaware the Jade Rabbit is an actual legend in China. Which is as follows. Long ago there was a Rabbit who glew like Jade. Who also happened to make the medicine for the gods’ immortality. However one day he gave the medicine to a mortal. As punishment he was banished to the moon for the rest of eternity. I have a theory that connects this legend to The Legend of Crotia. Perhaps this legend also served as the inspiration for that storyline. We know 5 things for certain. 1) The symbol of the Jade Rabbit is found on the moon, in Chinese (tying it to the legend.) 2) Crotia lived on the moon. 3) The place of Crotia’s revival is in a pool. 4) Crotia never dies, his soul always returns to that pool. 5) The Hive is heavily associated with glowing emerald (jade like) flames. Every inch of Crotia’s palace is not without the slightest shade of green. Point 1, 2 and 5 tie the legend of the Jade Rabbit to the legend of Crotia. While 3 and 4 are more loosely related, with the theme of immortality. However both of these points are more strongly connected to a western legend regarding immortality: the Fountain of Youth. In many adaptations of the legend, the Fountain’s power goes beyond the reversal of aging; restoring life to those about to suffer an unnatural death (from injury, poison, etc…). In short the Fountain of Youth may be the new medicine of the Rabbit. To be clear I do not think that Destiny incorporates the legend of The Fountain of Youth, nor that of the Jade Rabbit in a literal fashion. Rather that they point to what may have been the original inspiration for the storyline or the reason why the Hive are so interested in the moon. (perhaps the moon has something that restores life; after all the place of Crotia's revival is the only place in the game surrounded by a complete skeleton of the Arhamkara “dragons”.) Since the original premise of Destiny was to take place in Medieval times, the incorporation of both of these ancient legends does not seem too out of place. It would also tie in nicely with the theme of the Hive; a magical undead army with immortal leaders. (As a side note, in the same DLC that introduces Crotia’s father (Orik) an exotic weapon called the “Jade Rabbit” is introduced. Which further suggests a correlation with the Hive and the Jade Rabbit.) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The second part of this article is more speculative. Based on the above mentioned DLC, there are 2 main points. 1) The manner in which the Guardians gain their third subclass seems to have some correlation with the legend of the Jade Rabbit. 2) The Crotia Raid shows some potential remnants from the Legend of the Jade Rabbit. Before I begin, there are some parts of the legend that I left out. The mortal who was given the medicine was a hero of sorts; not much unlike our guardians. Except that he was originally an immortal who served under the Jade Emperor, who ruled over all the cosmos. His duty was to make the medicine of immortality. However one day the Jade Emperor’’s 9 sons transformed into 9 suns over the Earth. The fate of the world hung in the balance. Before long the immortal took matters into his own hands and killed all but 1 of the suns. Understandably the Emperor was not pleased; and so the immortal was cast from heaven, banished to a mortal life on Earth. In order to replace the medicine maker the Emperor sent 3 servants to the Earth, to seek one worthy of such a task. Thus we come to our Jade Rabbit who happened upon 3 starving beggars. Being utterly unable to help them, he cast himself into flames, in his guilt. Seeing his virtue, the 3 servants took the Rabbit into Heaven. After which it was not too long before the Jade Rabbit allowed for the mortal man to take the medicine of immortality; so that his power as an immortal could be restored. 1) The immortal had his power restored by the same medicine that he used to create. The guardians power is restored by returning to the origins of their power. In addition both of these events take place for some length after the death of the son of an all powerful deity or exhalted ruler. 2) Anyone who suffered the death of a teammate during the last phase of the Crotia Raid, will recognize the correlation with the 9 suns. Upon dying a colossal sun will appear that the team has to destroy, or else the team will wipe. Much like the world would have been if not for our immortal hero. This second point in particular, may not be an overreaching assessment. Destiny’’s other raid the Vault of Glass incorporates mythology as well. Such as during the Gorgons Maze; a reference to Medusa (one of the Gorgon sisters) as well as the Maze from the Legend of the Minotaur (coincidentally also the name of a type of Vex Monster that one can fight). Destiny’’s original premise as well as its obvious incorporation of legends into the game lends itself to be open to these kinds of interpretations. To me there is enough correlation to make the connections between the Hive, moon, Crotia, and his raid; meaningful. Whether or not these particular legends actually served as a source of inspiration, is irrelevant. In a game that has put so much emphasis on making a legend of our own, recognizing their place admist the legends of our united past, may make our own journeys that much more meaningful. It is only up to us decide whether or not we will embrace them. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Feel free to post any comments about the article, or any speculations of your own!