It’s me, your friendly neighborhood lore Hunter Vanguard! [spoiler]For those that don’t know, I won a competition on here, so I now get to call myself the official #lore Hunter Vanguard. I’ll make sure I live up to that position. https://www.bungie.net/de/Forums/Post/249593663?sort=0&page=0 Be sure to follow the rest of the competition. [/spoiler] This post is about one of my favorite lore topics in Destiny, that recently has entered my mind again. I’m talking about Ulan-Tan and his theories on the light and the darkness. Most of you should know what I’m talking about, but for those that don’t, here is a short recap: Ulan-Tan was a controversial Warlock associated with a group called "The Symmetry". Like the name suggests, he and the group believed that the light and the darkness have a necessary symmetry and need to be in balance. The Symmetry was denied a seat in the city Consensus and Ulan-Tan’s teachings were labeled as dangerous by the Vanguard. This is one of my favorite theories on the darkness, because it still leaves room for other theories to fit in. Today, I’ll explain why I’m a strong believer in this theory. ___________________________________________________ To sum up Ulan-Tan’s believes, we need to look no further than the Grimoire card "The Darkness" and the lore tab of the exotic ship "Symmetry Flight". Grimoire Card, The Darkness: [i]"Ulan-Tan's Thesis considers the Darkness a necessary symmetry to the Traveler in a cosmic balance. In this view, the Traveler's goodness led it to sacrifice for others, and it is up to us to return this goodness by healing the Traveler."[/i] Lore tab, Symmetry Flight: [i]"I propose a simple experiment—look around. You see light. You see darkness. There could not be one without the other. They are two sides of the same coin. If it is true for these Newtonian echoes, why would it not be true of the purest, paracausal forms? Therefore, I conclude: the reason you persecute me is not because of the symmetry. It's because of the truth beyond this truth, the truth which you most dread: if we could destroy darkness, but we had to give up our Light to do so, how many of us would make that trade?"[/i] In Destiny 1, Ulan-Tan’s name and his thesis were only one amongst many references to the nature of the darkness and we all know that "the darkness" was an undeveloped concept in D1. From all of the theories referenced in that grimoire card, this one has made it prominently into D2. ... Intermission: [spoiler]Saint-14’s Position is also very reinforced, since we have seen the pyramid ship forces, but it isn´t mentioned in D2. [i]"Saint-14's Position argues that the Darkness was an invading armada, an alien force of incredible - but tangible - power. Some adherents believe that this armada sprang from species rejected or discarded by the Traveler for their sins."[/i][/spoiler] [spoiler]Season 5 Edit: Ulan-Tan has made it into D2 once more. The new Eververse armorset is his armor. He’s being referenced again and again, just sayin.[/spoiler] ... Destiny 2 is slowly but surely introducing the darkness, so it should be the game that has the references for what the darkness actually is. Ulan-Tan is referenced multiple times in Destiny 2. We have the "Symmetry Flight" ship, "Ulan-Tan’s Grove" on Io and the lore entry on the exotic ship "A Thousand Wings". Why keep him and his thesis around if it turns out to be nothing? Let’s get into more practical evidence: You all remember the moment Ghaul’s light-smoke-liquid-ghost is destroyed by the Traveler, thereby shattering his cage. The looming god wakes from his slumber and sends out a wave of light, a god-wave some might call it. The wave of light spreads throughout our solar system and galaxy and further beyond, until it hits the black tetrahedron ships, which we can assume are the darkness or its forces. They light up, and turn towards the source of the wave, us. There is symmetry in this moment. As one power wakes, the other does too. The entity of light becomes active from this resting status and so do the ships that have been floating dormant in far space. The events that led up to this also have symmetry in them. As the Traveler chose his place for the final stand against the darkness, it was close to winning. The darkness, I mean. If the darkness had won this final battle, the balance would be completely lost. Then, miraculously, the Traveler defeated the darkness and most likely caused it to flee. With this much power used, the Traveler went dormant and so did the darkness, presumably. This would explain why they are just floating in space and not destroying some other civilization that doesn’t obey the final shape. For every victory of one side, there will be a loss of the other one. This has some further implications: First of all, good news and bad news: 1.We can’t loose 2.We can’t win This is why Ulan-Tan’s thesis was disliked by the Vanguard. It’s not really a great moral booster to your soldiers if they know they can’t win. Remember: [i]"[...] If we could destroy darkness, but we had to give up our Light to do so, how many of us would make that trade?"[/i] [spoiler]D3, anyone? [/spoiler] This also has some implications about our Guardian, [i]the[/i] Guardian. It’s widely accepted that the darkness will or could overpower us fairly easily. Imbalance in power, you see. Isn’t it weird that there is this one rando guardian that kills gods left and right, managing feats never thought to be possible? I believe this the "universe" balancing the playing field a little more. If this is all true, there is one interesting conclusion we can make about the Traveler. If the light and dark represent these cosmic forces, then the Traveler is either the only source and origin of the light, or it’s its only representative. If the Traveler is doing badly, so is the light. If the Traveler is dormant, so is it’s opposite, the darkness. I’m not sure if we can call the pyramid ships the only source of darkness tough. Ulan-Tan also believed that the light is connected through the whole universe. Grimoire, Chamber of Night: [i]"Your discovery is perhaps the greatest of our time. If the Hive were able to infect the Traveler through this long-lost shard of its battered shell, Ulan-Tan's theory may be true - all Light remains connected, across space and time. We cannot let our enemies use this power against us." - Ikora Rey"[/i] If the Traveler is the only source of light and spreads it to everywhere, then it’s imprisonment had far greater effect than we thought. And we can prove it. The Drifter, everyone’s favorite, was outside our solar system at the time of the imprisonment. He and the leftovers of his crew all lost their light in that exact moment too. Again, not sure if this would apply to the pyramid ships and the darkness too. So, what can we learn from all of this: If we don’t want to be caught up in an endless war between cosmic forces, we need to destroy both darkness and light. How exactly that would play out? Maybe we’ll see in due time... [i]"[...] If we could destroy darkness, but we had to give up our Light to do so, how many of us would make that trade?"[/i] ___________________________________________________ That was my take on Ulan-Tan, hope you enjoyed it. It’s a lot to read and think about, but it’s worth it. See ya!