Destiny 2 is arguably one of the most complex games on the market when it comes to its incredibly vast lore library, and every new release provides players with plenty more stories to read. Because the world-building process for Destiny 2 is a bit unusual in those regards, it means that players have to find the various lore cards on weapons, upon picking up collectibles, by completing Triumphs, and so on. As such, it can be quite difficult to keep up with everything in the game's storyline, especially because some characters were never introduced in Destiny 2 but only mentioned somewhere else.
An example is the Vanguard Dare, a legendary bet that Hunters honor when someone has to take on the Hunter Vanguard role from their predecessor. It's been over three years since Cayde-6, the previous Hunter Vanguard, died at the hands of Uldren Sov and the Scorn Barons, but that chapter of Destiny 2 has gone into the Destiny Content Vault since Forsaken's removal from the game. In order to understand what the Vanguard Dare is and why the Hunter Vanguard position has been vacant for so long, it's worth examining Cayde's history.
What the Vanguard Dare is and How Hunters Take the Role of Vanguard
Cayde-6 hadn't always been the Hunter Vanguard, with many before him that were either confirmed dead at some point or just vanished somehow. The most renowned Hunter Vanguard before Cayde was Andal Brask, who was part of Cayde's team alongside other legendary characters, such as Shiro-4, Nian Ruo, and Lush. During Destiny 2's so-called City Age, the team was taking action against Fallen raiding parties, which eventually resulted in the five Guardians being hunted by Fallen for Glimmer and Ether -- and also for revenge. Among those Fallen was Taniks, the Scarred, who ended up murdering Nian Ruo and killing Lush's Ghost, leaving Cayde and Andal Brask simmering with hatred.
On that same night, Andal and Cayde made a bet that if one of them managed to kill Taniks in revenge then the other would have to take the Hunter Vanguard job in the Tower. This is what Hunters call the Vanguard Dare -- a bet that one Hunter makes about how they or their cloak-wearing equals come to be the new Hunter Vanguard when the position is vacant. The Hunter Vanguard position had been vacant for two years prior to Andal Brask and Cayde's bet, and Andal's Dare concluded with Cayde thinking he had killed Taniks, thus leading to the former becoming the new Hunter Vanguard.
Taniks wasn't really dead, however, and during a Fallen attack on the Last City, he managed to exact revenge on Andal Brask, killing him. Cayde took the job in honor of his friend because he failed to actually kill Taniks, but he was later killed in the events of Destiny 2's Forsaken and the Hunter Vanguard position remained vacant ever since. As for Cayde's Dare, he decided that if he was killed by another Hunter, then that person would not only get to find the departed Cayde's riches but also take on the job of the new Hunter Vanguard.
Ironically, Cayde was killed by Uldren Sov, who was later executed in the final moments of the Forsaken campaign only to be revived as a Guardian not too long after that. Technically speaking, Uldren Sov's new Lightbearer persona, known as Crow, is a Hunter -- which means that Crow could indeed take on the mantle of Hunter Vanguard further down the line, and it would make perfect sense. If the Hunter Vanguard job remains vacant or if someone else takes it, then Cayde's Dare will be called off. Destiny 2's current story could see Crow eventually taking that position, and if he does, it also means that he would have to come up with his own Vanguard Dare.
Destiny 2 is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
