Destiny 2 has a plethora of evil characters who serve themselves, the Darkness, or both. However, none are perhaps as notorious as the Witch Queen Savathun. Originally called Sathona, a Krill from the planet Funadment billions of years ago, Sathona listened to her father's dead Worm familiar regarding a cataclysm set to destroy her world. Sathona descended deep into the oceans of Fundament with her two sisters and discovered the Worm Gods that granted them immortality and the powers of Darkness.
Destiny 2 has woven an intricate story around the brutality of Savathun, who uses her cunning and knowledge to manipulate friend and foe alike to further her cause. Utilizing her skills, Savathun has arguably been the most challenging enemy of the Guardians. Her true motives remain obscure through outright attacks or disguising herself as Osiris within the Last City to learn more about Guardians. Yet, The Witch Queen expansion's story enhances the lore around Savathun, hinting at a possible redemption.
Questioning the Sword Logic
When Sathona and her sisters took the Worm larvae and formed a symbiotic relationship to become Hive Gods, they discovered they'd need to forever feed their Worms through violence following the Sword Logic - an ideology in which those who cannot defend themselves do not deserve to exist. As the sisters accrued more knowledge and power, they also sharpened their skills against each other, following the same Logic. Embracing the views of the Darkness, the Hive Gods sought to liberate the universe by removing the rot - weaker lifeforms - to form a final repeating shape.
Destiny 2 lore going as far back as the Taken King reveals insights into Savathun's mind, who questions the Sword Logic and the nature of the Worms. She remarks that she has not found proof it's wrong, but suspects it may be. While this train of thought comes in long before The Witch Queen expansion, Destiny 2 writers have been crafting an explicit and intended saga.
Further evidence of Savathun questioning her belief in the Sword Logic appears during the Forsaken expansion, where she muses on refinancing her existence from an economy of violence to one of secrets. While this displays her hubris and pride, the fact that Savathun continues to question the pursuit of violence underlies her turn from utter devotion. The path to redemption is never easy, but recognizing one's motives are misguided can begin that journey.
Removing the Worm
After abducting and impersonating the Warlock Osiris, Savathun arrives at the Dreaming City to speak with Mara Sov, ruler of the Awoken. Savathun offers Mara Sov a deal: if she helps remove the Worm, Savathun will return Osiris unharmed, help defeat the Black Fleet, and end the curse on the Dreaming City. Mara Sov agrees, though secretly hopes to destroy the Witch Queen in her weakened state. The exorcism of the Worm is successful, and Osiris is returned, yet a fragment of crystal stabs Savathun as she flees.
Mara Sov keeps Savathun's Worm alive to learn about the Witness and the Witch Queen's role in humanity's collapse hundreds of years prior. The Worm reveals that when the Witness set its sights on the Traveler to destroy it, Savathun used her trickery to push the Witness back out of the Sol System. While her actions were not done to serve humanity but to protect the Traveler, Savathun has turned against the Darkness. Knowing death is possible without her Worm, she still embarks on a quest to remove it and further separate herself from the entity that requires death and conquest to survive.
Returning as a Guardian
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In the Destiny 2 universe, the Traveler granted the powers of Light to humans, Awoken, and Exos, creating Ghosts to revive and guide them. When Ghosts revive their Guardian, the resurrected do not retain their memories, requiring the Ghost and other artifacts to transition their memories. Ghosts are bonded to a particular Guardian and can spend hundreds of years searching for their counterpart. Throughout the lore, it's believed the Traveler chooses people based on some inherent or noble qualities.
While The Witch Queen campaign follows Guardians trying to discover how Savathun stole the Light from the Traveler, a massive story twist reveals that the Traveler granted Savathun the power of Light alongside a Ghost, Immaru, after the Witch Queen died. Furthermore, the actions of the Guardian restored Savathun's memories. The Traveler has been considered a benevolent caretaker of humanity, so its actions granting Savathun power open possibilities that Savathun may try to redeem herself.
The Witch Queen story reveals how Savathun received the Light, and sheds further light on the origin of the Hive Gods billions of years ago. The enigmatic Witness, an embodiment or child of the Darkness, foresaw the plan to grant the Krill species Light. To prevent this, the Witness lied about the cataclysm coming to Fundament through the dead Worm familiar that Sathona took from her father.
While it's implied that Savathun may have suspected this truth, her discovery sends her into a violent and tragic rage, in contrast to her typically calm and all-knowing demeanor. This outburst enhances emotions she already had begun to feel while impersonating Osiris, though Savathun has difficulty understanding them fully. With such manipulation being played on the Goddess of Deception and her growing sentimental emotions, time will tell if Savathun redeems herself.
Destiny 2 has created a rich and compelling villain. While Savathun's genocidal conquests are undoubtedly vile, the discovery of her manipulation at the hands of the Darkness through parasitic Worm larvae lays a foundation for redemption. The fact that Savathun begins to question her actions and removes the parasite from within her indicates she still has a vital role to play.
Destiny 2 is available now PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
