The roles that both the Traveler and Witness play in Destiny 2 will become more pivotal as time moves on. The two entities currently act as heralds of the Light and Darkness respectively, making them incredibly important in the story that Destiny 2 has been telling. As the Light and Darkness saga continues to unfold, old secrets, lies, and truths have all been brought to the forefront, and directly challenged by Destiny 2’s narrative and the player. Actions like reviving members of the Hive with Light, and turning them into Guardians, as well as the greater deception of the Krill, have brought Destiny 2 to a crossroads.
Experiencing these things during The Witch Queen expansion is intense for veteran players and New Lights alike. It’s a pivot from everything Guardians have been told is true, and it feels like it greatly contradicts what players have learned so far in Destiny 2. The changes that Destiny 2 has gone through following The Witch Queen have also provided a better perspective on some of the game’s most powerful characters. As frightening as the Hive Gods can be, it’s clear that the Witness and the Traveler both wield immeasurable power. This doesn’t make them omniscient or omnipotent, but it has led to different civilizations and people worshipping and deifying them.
Destiny: The Traveler and The Witness
For the Traveler, this can be seen incredibly clearly with both the Eliksni and humanity. The human and Eliksni races have reverence for the Traveler that rivals any god from human history. This appraisal of the Light-bearing entity makes sense, as raising the dead is no small feat. However, as the story of Destiny 2 has continued to unfold, the evidence that the Traveler is not all-knowing has only grown in its obviousness. Instead, it has become clearer and clearer that the Traveler is just a powerful agent of the Light: An entity with the ability to bless whole civilizations with its powers before quietly disappearing into the vacuum of space.
The Witness appears to have taken on a similar role in Destiny 2’s lore, but instead of blessing different civilizations, it corrupts those the Traveler has an interest in. This is how the Krill were deceived by Rhulk the Disciple and the Worm Gods. The Witness saw a species the Traveler sought to uplift and found an appropriate opportunity to bend and break them to its will. However, while these two approaches appear to be opposites, they also speak to a larger trend in Destiny 2.
The different characters that interact with these two entities are, in the end, disposable pieces in a grand game. The game between the Gardener and the Winnower has been mentioned before in Destiny 2’s lore. While the Witness has clearly expressed its interest in the Final Shape, and the Traveler continually works against it, neither appears to have an incredibly strong attachment to any other forces besides themselves. Even while the Traveler was being pulled inside Savathun's throne world, it didn't really show an interest in the fight between two of its strongest allies.
This tie between the new Witness character and the Traveler, as two of the strongest paracausal forces in the universe, has made them rather apathetic to the suffering either of them causes. The Traveler’s actions might suggest that it cares in some way, but its lack of interest in maintaining a sustainable future for those civilizations it visits contradicts this. It left the Eliksni, it left the Lubraean’s, and it has been hinted that it also may have intended to abandon humanity when the Darkness arrived.
The Witness on the other hand seems to pick at the Traveler’s scraps in instances where it can’t intervene before its arrival. Turning civilizations against the Light that feel abandoned by the Traveler is probably easier than trying to corrupt everything in the universe in one fell swoop. This approach should eventually leave the Traveler without allies and the Witness with an army full of underlings. A bonus to this is that most of these creatures may be fueled by their hate, like Rhulk and many of the strongest Hive in Destiny 2.
The Traveler in Destiny 2
These aspects of the Traveler and Witness in Destiny 2 do create a line between light and dark, but they also demonstrate that the two are just two sides of a coin. Their overall interest and endgame don’t appear to be dictated by how they impact the other species in Destiny 2. Instead, their focus is on defeating the other. The Final Shape is what they want the universe to reflect based on their understanding of Light and Darkness. Even after the acceptance of the Lucent Brood by the Light, it seems neither truly cares about what happens between now and their ultimate goal.
This truth is reinforced during Season of the Risen, where the Traveler could choose to intervene between humanity and the Hive. Its newly chosen are at extreme odds with the Tower and the Cabal with atrocities committed on both sides. Rather than prevent more Lightbearers from either side dying, the Traveler continues to hover over the Last City. This type of indifference speaks volumes to the Traveler as a character and reinforces that in the end, it’s more like the Witness than Destiny 2 has made it out to be.
Despite trying to make amends for not getting to the Hive in time, the Traveler allows them and human Guardians to die. In the past, the Traveler’s hibernation and lack of action have been frustrating, but could be argued as it allowing free will. Why imbue Guardians with Light and the power of resurrection only to hawk over them?
Now, with its deified status somewhat changed, inaction is more of a statement. It gives added weight to the Witness’ proclamations in its reveal at the end of The Witch Queen's campaign. While the Traveler says it gives the gift of Light and life, death seems to follow it. The Witness might be responsible for much of the hardship, but the Traveler has spent eons allowing it to go unchallenged. Each civilization is blessed for a while before ultimately being abandoned. If the Traveler is truly different from the Witness then it needs to take notable action.
Destiny 2 is now available on PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
