Playing through the campaign for Destiny 2’s new expansion is full of shocking moments. Throughout The Witch Queen, players are forced to question everything that they’re familiar with in Destiny 2. The Light, the Traveler, the Darkness, and the newly named Witness character, all lead down a path full of uncertainty. Completing The Witch Queen’s campaign doesn’t offer much closure for players either. Rather than having their questions answered, the intense end to an equally intense campaign leaves players wondering about the future and what to expect as the narrative for Destiny 2 marches forward.
In the past, many of Destiny 2’s campaigns have been able to offer more concrete understandings of what’s happening in the universe through lore books. Collections of lore related to one another, lore books are aimed at filling in the little cracks that an expansion’s campaign or other activities might not be able to cover. These are often great ways to learn about Destiny 2’s universe and help to continue the narrative. However, for The Witch Queen expansion, rather than shining a light on the situations at hand, many of the lore pieces that are collected as part of the Martian Missives lore book only add to the questions that players left The Witch Queen’s campaign with.
Eris and Ikora's Messages
As a whole, The Witch Queen’s campaign is what Destiny 2 needed, but its lack of clarity at the end has left a lot of doors open. Players spent the majority of the campaign questioning everything, and wondering about Savathun’s newly found powers in the Light. It feels almost sacrilegious to have gone through so much of Destiny 2’s story and completed The Witch Queen, only to be faced with an enemy that has been chosen by the same forces that have given players their powers. However, riddled in between the ever-deceptive dialogue and conflicting feelings of The Witch Queen are the equally questionable lore tabs for the Martian Missives lore book.
The book itself is a collection of correspondence in the form of letters between the Guardian, the player’s character, and other key members of Destiny 2’s cast. This includes the likes of Ikora Rey, Eris Morn, and even Empress Caiatl extending an olive branch to continue open channels of communication. Despite how critical these lore tabs should be to understanding Destiny 2’s story, they only increase the player’s suspicion as each new addition is read. It’s true that, at first, they’re not concerning, but with time typos and correspondence from other characters amidst missions as part of Ikora’s Hidden suggest that Savathun’s trickery is at play.
Four of the eight in particular feel like substantial evidence that not all the correspondence that the Guardian receives in the Martian Missives lore book is to be taken at face value. Both Ikora Rey and Eris Morn send more than one message to the Guardian each with drastically different tones. The first from Eris reads very much like a final farewell. A plea to the player’s character to kill her should Eris be compromised by Savathun, the Witch Queen, and turn on the Vanguard. It’s a dark moment and without the rest of the lore book, feels sincere. However, the second message from Eris clearly states that Savathun was able to infiltrate communication networks during her time impersonating Osiris.
Similarly, Ikora Rey’s second message reads almost as a resignation. An acknowledgment of her missteps regarding Osiris during Year 4 leading up to Season of the Lost, and her vision for the Guardian to take command of her post. However, much like the encrypted message from Eris Morn, Ikora’s own encrypted communication paints a picture where Savathun is attempting to sabotage the Tower’s efforts.
Using back-channel communications like this would be an incredibly efficient way to do so, while also misleading players about the true nature of the messages that they’re receiving. It’s in character for the Witch Queen that players have known up until now, and even in line with the person that Savathun becomes during the new expansion’s campaign.
Osiris and Toland's Messages
Despite how questionable the Martian Missives lore book is, it may also contain vital information for Destiny 2’s future. The Witch Queen is a deceptive enemy in Destiny 2, and her powers of misdirection are put on full display throughout the map of Savathun’s throne world. Hidden corners and passageways dot the landscape, and just as Savathun is evolving, so is the environment and story unfolding around her. One thing that has remained consistent through all of this though is her, and others, implementation of half-truths.
These half-truths are carefully constructed to omit what can be omitted, but still convincing enough to leave those that should know better questioning what’s going on around them. Within the context of the Martian Missives lore books, this comes in the form of almost every message, but is highlighted by one from Toland, the Shattered, and one received from Osiris. These each bare critical information that would fit their characters, something that could hint at Savathun’s involvement or a greater problem coming in Destiny 2’s future.
Toland, who in the past has warned about Savathun, also acknowledges her drive to survive. Savathun has evaded permanent death countless times, and even after finishing The Witch Queen’s Legendary campaign, it’s clear she will likely continue to do so. While Toland’s words here might not be his, a half-truth could be hidden amongst them. The blind devoutness that players engage in during the campaign might not be good, and allying with Savathun previously would be unthinkable. Now that she and other Lucent Hive have been gifted the Light, a compromise might need to be reached. This could be the difference between life and death when Xivu Arath arrives both for the deceitful Witch Queen and humanity as well.
The message from Osiris echoes this, and his past is part of what makes his message and the lore book so difficult to swallow. As a whole, it feels like this message and others continue to make Osiris’s fate in Destiny 2 unclear, which adds to its uneasiness. The message is obvious though, whether it comes from Savathun or characters that players trust, The Witch Queen has been chosen by the Traveler and the Light. Though her deceitful ways continue, she is very likely the ally that the Tower will need as time presses on.
Destiny 2 is available on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.
