So after helping my brother beat the first few missions in D2 (I know, what a noob), I started to think about the underlying themes in the events. So what events will we consider: - the golden age - the collapse - the dark age - the battle of six fronts - the battle of twilight gap - the great disaster - D1 vanilla - the dark below - the house of wolves - the taken war - the SIVA crisis - the age of triumph - the red war - the curse of Osiris - Warmind - forsaken - Black Armoury So let’s get started: with [b]the golden age: peace[/b] The arrival of the Traveler brought with it a new age. One of great peace. All discrimination ended. Conflicts ceased. Expansion began. Venus, Luna, Mars, Titan, Europa, Enceladus, Io. Each became a foothold in our conquest. We expanded, and we were at peace with one another. [b]the collapse: Horror[/b] The Darkness almost drove humanity to extinction. It killed so many of Sol’s inhabitants. Undid all we created. Sent us into a primitive state. Followed by the banes of our survival: Eliksni, hive, cabal and vex (in a more prominent force). They sought survival as much as we did. The night had arrived. [b]the dark age: the struggle[/b] The dark age. Guardians didn’t exist back then. Just the Risen. The Iron Lords stood for “peace” and the warlords opposed them. Claiming land. “Struggling” to keep their ground. Their territory. But it wasn’t just the Risen who struggled. Mortal remnants of humanity struggled to survive. On top of the warlords and bandits, the fallen had began to pillage the earth to get their own hand at survival. It was a hard time for sure. [b]the battle of six fronts: legends are made, not born[/b] Six fronts. What more is there to say. Four Titan orders stood their ground and held six fronts against the fallen house of Devils. Our first major victory. Many legends are remembered: Saint-14, Osiris, Zavala, Saladin Forge, Shaxx. If they weren’t prominent figures by then, this sealed their remembrance. [b]the battle of twilight gap: unity[/b] Twilight gap is a massive remembrance of unity. Kings, winter, devils and wolves (if not for the interruption of the Queen of the reef) unified, would’ve overwhelmed us. Their unity was strong. But ours was stronger. Warlocks, Titans, Hunters. We all stood together. Even the Sunbreakers stood with us (out of a deal brokered by Osiris). Those of Shaxx’s small defence at the gap fought together. Whilst the previous theme could easily also fit here, this felt like a much better fit. [b]the great disaster: hubris[/b] The great disaster. One of our biggest defeats. We had too much confidence. Too much pride. Ego. Greed. What could’ve been our biggest victory, was in fact made a failure due to lack of planning and lack of assessment of the hive. We lost so much to pride and we suffered the price. [b]D1 Vanilla: looking beyond the veil[/b] [quote]D1 vanilla was a story about a newly revived guardian going out and exploring what the rest of humanity thought was lost. It’s the guardian who brings the black garden and other critical info to humanity’s attention, peeling back the veil and looking into the great beyond.[/quote] [b]the dark below: stand up and fight[/b] Crota’s return lingered. Eris Morn, one survivor from a bloodbath and its after party. But she didn’t stand down. She came home. For help. To help. And she wasn’t the only one standing up to fight. Crota’s forces were preparing for a mass invasion of earth. They were getting back up. And so did we. We took the moon by force. We slew his brood. We slew Crota. We slew a god. And that’s when he called into the black. [b]the house of wolves: loyalty comes in many forms[/b] The house of wolves proved their loyalty. Their betrayal to their rightful kell, for a false prophet, was shown. But ours was shown as well. Our “loyalty” to an oath. We answered Mara’s call. When the large forces of house winter bowed to the rabid kell. When he tried to heard the devils and barter with the kings, we brought him to justice. Skolas, whilst a criminal by awoken right, was loyal to his people. To the eliksni. He saw what would answer from the dark. He wanted to survive. Brother Vance was introduced as a loyal follower of Osiris and Variks of house Judgement and Petra, Queens wrath loyal to Mara. [b]the taken war: darkness is always near[/b] Not even a year after Crota’s death, we faced Oryx. We boarded his dreadnought and committed regicide. His presence; his darkness was felt throughout sol. Earth, Venus, Mars, Phobos, Luna, the reef. His darkened power was on our doorstep. But we tamed a small amount of it. And the light found a way. [b]the SIVA crisis: finish the fight[/b] The history of the iron lords came back. The plague lands. The house of devils. Our history. All came back. We stood with Saladin to finish the fight. We destroyed the replication chamber. We then went to the heart of the operation. Aksis. The leader of the operations of house devils. And we ended it. [b]the age of triumph: Our newest hope[/b] A celebration of the city’s greatest accomplishments. Our greatest accomplishments. This was our celebration. Everything we have done since resurrection. That is all us. We were the newest hope. Our next hero. We lit the spark that ignited the flame. The age of triumph is about us. The city’s newest hope. [spoiler]further proof is in the grimoire card: The guardian [quote] to answer your question, when it came time to reach out, to find a Guardian to take on this mission, there was only one choice. - They stood against the Vex in the Black Garden, and grounded that place to Mars. - They went against the Hive in the dark below, working with Eris Morn to undermine Crota, the Hive God. - The Reefborn made use of the Guardian in their search for the criminal Skolas, as I understand. - And, of course, it was the Guardian that led the assault on the Taken King's Dreadnaught. All of the after-action reports I've shown you about the Taken War, the calm state of the system... we have this Guardian to thank. I've attached more details, if you want to read evaluations from the Vanguard. Just skim Cayde's. He's... not very biased, here.[/quote] We are acknowledged as a hero in game. And a great one at that. [/spoiler] [b]the red war: perseverance[/b] Arguably the biggest test of our skill. Ghaul and the red legion proved our ability to overcome odds was more than what we imagined. Zavala’s perseverance to survive. Ikora’s determination to prove she is more than her light. Cayde’s persistent ability to be the comic relief, even when faced with death. And the speaker’s attempts to prove Ghaul wrong. [quote]you started small, you will end small[/quote] Even failed perseverance. Ghaul’s attempts to please the traveler and earn his Light, but ultimately taking it in the end. [b]curse of Osiris: build from the ashes[/b] Mercury. A planet under near total vex control. Ashes of it’s former self. A garden torched at it’s roots. Metaphorically and literally. With the help of Osiris, Sagira and Ikora we successfully build up our hold on Mercury and reclaim the Infinite Forest for ourselves. [b]warmind: the past always returns[/b] Pretty self explanatory. Rasputin. Ana Bray. Clovis Bray. Nokris. Xol. All return. [b]forsaken: when one door closes, another opens[/b] [quote]Forsaken is about us loosing a friend. But when Cayde’s door closed, multiple opened. The literal sense being the dreaming city door and the one to Mara’s court. It led to a unified fight in the dreaming city. Uldren’s death and resurrection. It brought us closer to Quaria through the curse. It introduced us to the Spider and his Shore and it allowed us to hunt down and end the barons. One door closed. One friend lost. But multiple doors opened and multiple friends gained. [/quote] [b]black Armoury: open your heart[/b] Ada-1. When first introduced quite hostile towards us. She didn’t want anything to do with us. But when we brought the forges back online (the heart of the black Armoury’s operation), dealt with Siviks and returned her little head piece, she appears a bit more open. And there you have it. Those are just my interpretations of the underlying themes. Am I over thinking this? Definitely. But what are your thoughts? Agree? Disagree? Discuss below. [spoiler]thanks to Sky for help thinking of themes [/spoiler] Thanks for reading. (posted on the 28th January 2019)