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originally posted in:The Killworthy Gamers
Edited by Vareth:
8/30/2014 2:22:10 AM
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Hey Killworthy, the ISEEA guy from FB here. I'm starting to write the article we discussed, but I felt as though I might post this portion of it here - to add my voice to the Traveler discussion!
The Chosen Ones
There is undoubtedly something different about the overall feel of Destiny’s mythic science fiction setting. It is distinct from Halo’s heavily biblical and ‘hard-sci-fi’ feel, and feels much more ethereal - almost like it could have been interpreted from an ancient fairy tale.
Throughout the lore of and aesthetic of Destiny, Bungie’s descriptions of events, characters and weapons dance off the page with an almost Tolkienian flavour. There is a weight and gravitas being channeled from the very same perennial, classic story elements as Star Wars and Lord of the Rings once did, with their own unique interpretations and retellings of them.
At it’s core, [b]Destiny is the story of a lost child,[/b] Humanity, stranded and alone in the Galaxy, [b]and of the mysterious Mother-figure[/b], The Traveler, who came out of no where to tend to us - to save us.
It must have heard our cry from on high, seen how astray our species was, fighting amongst ourselves - and yet, at heart, full of potential for light and good. It’s the story of humanity being found, held close and cared for by this benevolent presence, and in the process also finding and learning to care for itself. For a peacefully long-lasting Golden Age, we began realising our potential as a species. We started seeing in ourselves what The Traveler first saw when it chose to bless us with it’s unimaginable gifts.
Sadly, It’s also the story of how this child come to discover, to our great tragedy and terrible loss, that our Mother figure was, like humanity, itself astray when it found us - fleeing from an ancient Enemy, who has pursued it for countless aeons - The Darkness.
And so, much like the prototypical prologue sequence involving a Mother, suddenly realising an unstoppable aggressor has come for her and her Child, who dies defending us - and with her last words, tells us to be strong, to[b] be brave[/b], and that it’s up to us now, to do what she’s no longer able to.
Those ‘last words’ are the Ghosts - sentient pieces of the Traveler created at the moment of it’s sacrifice, who, like the real last words of a beloved departed one, have come to us in our time of need to pick us up, bring us back from our fears, and finally become what the Traveler once believed to be our Destiny - The Light, shining across the Galaxy, ever-burning through The Darkness.
English
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I think you just blew my mind
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Hehe, bless :) I'm glad I did, I'm happy to help clean up the mess with you too. Before inviting you to read the whole article from which this excerpt was taken! A little some place I've created called http://iseeaplace.com :) Cheers!
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Space Jesus
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Damn. I just wasted over 1000 words - that's pretty much what -- oh no wait, there's a couple of extra tidbits that are different. I don't think Jesus was a mother fleeing an abusive ex-partner! Hehe. C'mon! The Traveler is a mufasa figure, and the darkness has to be Scar - possibly a Dark Traveler in pursuit? And Mankind is Simba. Bewm
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I need to go sit down and rethink my life.
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Come now, Jiggle Britches! You'll be ok :D
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Haha great post though.
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This is wonderful. You're a fantastic writer.
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You're very welcome Killworthy. I'm glad you enjoyed it :D I'm enjoying 'reading' Destiny immensely, scrying what's been revealed so far for patterns, archetypes and meaning. Like you yourself have said, bungie are known for infusing deeply emotional and often richly spiritual meaning into seemingly one of the most superficial genres. I'm utterly fascinated with this ballsy juxtaposition! And smile wryly at the unmistakeable unifying effect the Traveler-borne emotional heft of such a story is having on everyone unconsciously - of course we wanna honour her sacrifice, of *course* we want to claim our Destiny among the stars :) And an important old tale is to be retold en masse again...
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wow.. you're like... a clone of Deej lol jk. Well written! Oh and while reading this, I heard the voice of Liam Neeson lol (perfect voice over right?).
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Edited by Vareth: 8/30/2014 8:07:18 AMHehe, I don't know about that my friend, but thank you very much nonetheless. Deej is a brilliantly evocative writer, a proper storyteller who does what all the very best can do effortlessly - tell stories in a way that make you want to gather round and listen. The same applies for Mr. Neeson - absolutely perfect choice! As I mention above in my reply to Kilworthy, I'm passionate about what bungie is accomplishing here - tapping into an enduring story archetype in a highly stylised re-telling that is both timely and, by the looks of it, seems to be sweeping the world out from our own collective 'Traveler' to claim back what was once ours. The is concept versatile enough that it can represent for each person whatever it will. We all have someone's belief in our own individual potential (our destiny) to honour, by trying our very best to fulfil it. The Traveler could be a metaphor for the interactive medium: this powerful all-touching presence that, by creating and playing Destiny, we are helping to take it to heights of artistic/storytelling potential it could never have done on it's own, or in a vacuum. It could be the memory of a cause that was once fought for then abandoned, and now in our direst hour it is of vital importance of our race to revive it. It could even be a metaphor for those old, ever-present yet timeless stories which now more than ever need to be told again, as we step into a new generation of technologically savvy and console-bound kids who wouldn't otherwise heed a story such as this unless it was told in a language they know, are passionate about, and understand. There's no doubt that our world as it is could do with coming together over a single, unifying objective - in each their own way, both Avatar and Star Wars tapped into this powerful thematic idea as well when they came out, both at points in our history where their messages were sorely needed by humanity on an unconscious level. This is always the explanation of a phenomenon - something that has just the right ingredients at just the right moment in the just the right way to speak to all of Earth at once. Like the distant figure of The Mountain in Journey, a title with which Destiny shares an undercurrent theme of human one-ness struggling on through adversity towards our life goal (reaching the mountain, waking the Traveler), the Traveler is at once a larger-than-life presence but also an intimately personal one in our lives as well. It's the story of what each of us will choose to do in the Light of this being's belief in us, and our own potential: Do we choose fear, and hide away from it, staying disconnected from each other until we fade away? Or will we choose Love (Light), come together as one, and fight for it? Come September 9th, the choice will be mine, yours and everyone's to make.
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Epicness! Once again, great writting!! Thanks for the post man, hope to see you starside! Are you braving the wild on PS4 or Xbox ONE? (assuming you're on a next gen console)
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It will be PS4 for me, after a long fought eBay battle for a ghost edition I originally had on Amazon but mistakenly cancelled! However, I don't own a PS4 - won't be joining you all until around February :( Not to worry! My exiled awoken hunter Vareth (he's a hermit that lives Obi Wan style in the Jundland wastes) will 'awake' spoon enough :D
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Great writing man. But "spoon enough" had me rolling. Keep up the good work.
