Destiny 2: Ascendant Realms and Ley Lines
The beginning of the Season of the Lost was very peculiar, as it converged with the announcement of The Witch Queen, the new DLC scheduled for 2022.
This coincidence allowed for the first time to intersect the narrative flow between a season and a DLC, continuing the effort that Bungie has been carrying out since the Season of the Timeless in tying up the usually vague main plot in Destiny.
The events that are unfolding in this season may be perceived as not completely clear in some cases. Let us try to shed light on everything noteworthy that is happening, then, while focusing on understanding the nature of the Ascendant Realm and the Ley Lines.
The return of Mara Sov
During the events of Forsaken, after the defeat of Uldren Sov (Mara’s brother corrupted by Riven’s illusions), we were able to reach the Court of Mara Sov, where the queen consented to various hearings, up to the seventh, where she disappeared without leaving a trace.
Although it has not been clarified what the reason for his disappearance was, nor what role she played during the invasion of the Black Fleet, Mara then contacted the Vanguard in the aftermath of the clash between the Traveler and the pyramid ships, after the Season of Arrivals.
She apologized for not being able to stop the invaders and told us that a plan for her return was already in motion. However, we know from the Season of the Lost narrative that this process was far more complicated than expected.
But before addressing the whole story, we need to clarify some obscure points that Destiny has always left open, such as the nature of the Ascendant Plane and its dependencies.
The Ley Lines explained
We know that higher paracausal entities such as the Hive Ascendants, but also the Guardians themselves and to limited extent characters of great power such as Mara Sov, can navigate what in Destiny is commonly known as the “Ascendant Plane”.
This is a dimensional dependency of the universe’s fabric, elegantly described by Petra as one of the initial dialogues with a metaphor.
“Imagine the universe as a set of coins, stacked one on top of the other. The top coin is our reality. The bottom: the Ascendant Plane. Between them lies an intermeshing of ever-shifting pathways known as the Ley Lines. Almost all the ancient pathways are now defunct, but beings of paracausal ability can navigate and rebuild them. This is the art of Wayfinding.”
Petra Venj, in-game dialogue.
We understand for the first time the functioning of this otherwise rather obscure system. Specifically, we now know that Hive Ascendents are not the only ones able to navigate between these dimensions and that the plane is an accessible reality with the right technology and knowledge.
In the case of the current seasonal activity, we are pushed to travel through the Ley Lines to find the lost Techeuns from a precise location and this is also partially explained by Petra in the same dialogue.
“We know our lost Techeuns are stranded somewhere among the Ley Lines, and they’re leaving us markers to follow.”
Petra Venj, in-game dialogue.
By triangulating the signals left by the Techeuns, it is possible to use the Blind Well to “pierce” the fabric of the universe and connect to the specific Ley Line to reach the relative location on the Ascendant Plane, where you can trace the related Techeun.
Once more, the Blind Well proves to be a powerful but versatile tool, perhaps the most complex created so far by the Awoken, capable of acting like a huge dimensional radio telescope, capable of identifying points between one reality and another in our pile of coins. Using the Logic of the Sword, by charging the Well with energy through the sacrifice of the enemies killed in its hall, we can obtain the same power of every Ascendant Hive: That of opening, in fact, interdimensional rifts.
The clarification of Petra is very important, as each of our journeys to the Ascendant Plane starts from the signals left by a Techeun in a specific set of locations in the European Dead Zone, the Moon, and the Tangled Shore. Starting from these points in our reality (remember, the first coin of our metaphorical pile), we follow the Ley Lines to the area of the specific area of the Ascendant Plane – our point of interest.
This area, however, will be polluted by a shadow realm of the place of departure – a dark mirror of that place. For example, if we start from the EDZ, we will find ourselves in a corrupted and twisted image of the EDZ on the Ascendant Plane. The explanation for this phenomenon was given in one of the main quest texts.
“The Ley Lines are degrading, polluted with Taken corruption and Hive spellcraft. This causes them to mirror aspects of the material world. Primal cosmic forces govern the Ley Lines. Conditions must be perfect to open a pathway for the next rescue mission.”
In-game Mission Text
Finally, an interesting detail on the meaning of the original name of the Ley Lines. The meaning refers to a well-known esoteric terminology. First used by Alfred Watkins in 1921, the term indicates an alleged geographic alignment of various important archaeological sites in the world.
This would prove a correlation between these structures and various other esoteric theories, which are inconsistent and mostly incorrect.
But why are we invading the Ascendant Plane on the orders of Queen Mara Sov? Let’s take a step back and go back to the moment when the Queen disappeared, at the end of the Forsaken DLC.
Lost between the Ley Lines
Sometime between the end of last season and the start of the current one, Petra began to take steps for the return of the long-absent Queen. To begin this long journey, Petra needed the Techeuns, but she was left with a big problem: the Battle of Saturn against Oryx has reduced their covenant to the single ones saved during the events of Forsaken, namely Kalli, Sedia, Shuro Chi, and Ilyn.
“I can’t hold the Reef with Corsairs alone. I can’t search for the queen with looking glasses and a depleted armada. We need more Techeuns, Illyn. You know I’m right.”
Petra Venj, “NEW COVEN – I”
“Pathfinder’s Helm”, armor.
So, then, Petra and the reluctant Ilyn listed several candidates and began training them. Ilyn was well aware that training new Techeuns is no small feat, as is Petra, who failed years ago to become one herself.
“We haven’t the time. Training spans decades.”
Petra Venj, “NEW COVEN – I”
“Make. It. Work,” Petra demanded before taking a breath and continuing. “Illyn, I will do whatever you need. Please, can we work through this together?”
Illyn’s head sunk. She leaned over the cliffside—over the stream of plummeting mist—and watched the flow of water drop into endlessness. “Send me your candidates. I hope they are stronger than you were.”
“Pathfinder’s Helm”, armor.
Despite all the inherent problems due to inexperience and lack of time to learn the centuries-old secrets of the covenant, the new Techeuns reached the end of their training.
For the final step, they were subjected to surgical augmentation grafting, in the form of special amethyst crystals implanted on the forehead, as every true Techeun. One of them, Austyn, appears to be the most sensitive to the power of the Techeuns. After receiving training, Austyn explores the Ley Lines, unlocking a terrifying vision.
“In the distant cosmos far ahead, Austyn saw a darkened haze of indecipherable noise. Somewhere nestled in the Ley Lines, this shadowed spot was growing. Austyn knew Mara Sov was distant. She knew the queen had obscured herself from her enemies. Austyn had felt a presence reach from the noise toward the Dreaming City more than once. Tonight, she would reach back.”
“JOURNEY – IV”
“Pathfinder’s Greaves”, armor.
The precedent felt by Austyn, lost among the paths that connect the various planes of reality, is connected to the Darkness and, probably, to the reason why Mara is lost (or maybe sheltering) among the planes of the Ley Lines. It is background noise, but it seems to be a constant presence. Thus, Austyn goes after her.
“It tore her consciousness across the cosmos to a grand terrace of onyx swords and emerald flame reigning over a red harbor. Fingers reached like blades from distant hollows. Screaming noise upon noise. A lone figure stood on the terrace aside two empty thrones. Testing. Prodding. Tasting. Breeding war.”
“JOURNEY – IV”
“Pathfinder’s Greaves”, armor.
Petra wakes Austyn, bringing her back to reality. We can only imagine who that solitary figure is – Xivu Arath, who stands between two thrones, hers and her sister’s, whom she hunts: Savathun.
In the subsequent attempt to scan the Ley Lines in search of Mara, the entire coven of thirteen, new Techeuns, led by the elderly, again come across this dark presence, which begins to hunt them down too.
“Now they cascaded through a river of possibility, will, and intention.
“THIRD-STRING WITCHES – V”
It was not long before the connection was made. Queen Mara Sov’s voice filled their thoughts, and they drew to it like gravity. The Coven sisters skipped between Ley Lines, ricocheting from time to place until they found themselves swirling in the whirlpool accretion of a brilliant celestine goddess. Their queen.
Not far beyond it, Austyn again saw the noise.
She kept her eye upon it while each of her sisters reached out, until the image of Mara Sov manifested and her words found footing in understanding. They focused their will upon her words, and before them, a pale screen of fog and glass gave way into a distant Ley Line beyond Sol.
“You have done well, my Techeuns,” said Mara, stepping from the nothing and into their presence. She placed her hand on the Wayfinder’s Compass.
“Take me home.”
“Pathfinder’s Mark”, armor.
In a battle against time, the new Techeuns follow Austyn’s plan to sidetrack their pursuers, as they focus on bringing Mara back to the Dreaming City.
“Austyn’s mind could think of nothing but one name: Xivu Arath.
“THIRD-STRING WITCHES – V”
She could see the Dreaming City, but the image wasn’t clear. The sharpness of the connection was darkening. Her sisters felt her worry. They did not have the strength to escape. Their minds aligned on an action. Austyn grabbed the compass and placed it in Mara Sov’s hands. “We will ensure your arrival.”
Each sister shifted her thoughts from the Dreaming City to her own corner of the Ascendant Plane, and with a burst of will, they scattered themselves across the Ley Lines. The noise halted momentarily and split in every direction to follow them.
Queen Mara Sov crashed to her feet as she connected with the floor of the Blind Well.
“My queen!” Petra looked to the quickly sealing rift from which she fell.
“Where are the others?”
“Pathfinder’s Mark”, armor.
The plan worked, and Mara Sov manages to get back to the Dreaming City, but the cost was high: the Techeuns are lost among the Ley Lines, to prevent Xivu Arath from tracing the correct way to the Blind Well and, therefore, for the source of the power of the City.
In a weekly dialogue, it goes so far as to argue that Xivu Arath wants to control the Blind Well to gain total power over the geography of the Ley Lines. In this way, the Hive and the Taken could be projected anywhere in the galaxy, potentially. That is why in hunting down the lost Techeuns, we must also defend the Well from the incursions of various Hive majors.
The choice of asking the Guardians for this mission is connected to our paracausal powers, which allow us to navigate between the Ley Lines, but also because the new Techeuns are necessary to allow Mara to perform an incredible feat: to help Savathun.
Osivathun
At the end of the previous season and the beginning of the current, Savathun confirmed our suspicions, namely that the Osiris we have met since the beginning of the Season of the Hunt was the Witch Queen in disguise.
We love to call this personification “Osivathun”, to avoid confusing it with the real Osiris, who seems to find himself imprisoned somewhere, if not within Savathun herself.
Confirming her title of queen of deceptions, Savathun set a condition for the release of Osiris: She needs to have her worm to be exorcised, to finally overcome the terrible everlasting grip on her person by these parasites of the Darkness.
To do this, she has agreed to be imprisoned in an amethyst cocoon by Mara Sov, who has therefore accepted her pact, including it in her inscrutable plan hers.
We will talk about Savathun, the relationship with the Raven, and his occult plan to obtain the Light in a future article, maybe, which will benefit from the continuation of the story of the Season.
A story of two queens
An important part of the narrative of this season is the development of Savathun. Before this moment, this figure has always been vague, dashed, never explicit in any practical way but only interpretive, literally living inside the written lore only.
Given that it is impossible to maintain expectations with these premises, Savathun has revealed itself between hype and doubts, integrating into the story as a real NPC, much for the demise of her previous, bold definitions.
The relationship between the character of Mara and Savathun has been rightly summarized with the quoted phrase “A Tale of Two Queens”, and both have long been much more similar to each other than they want to admit.
Some journalists and content creators have proved hostile to how Mara is handling the situation, suspecting her or even accusing her of only looking after her interests; well, Mara Sov has never hidden the true nature of her person in all these years of short but intense apparitions. Her relationship with power and the manipulation to achieve her goals, out of necessity and considering the situation of the case, have always been revealed with great nonchalance.
The difference between Mara Sov and Savathun is precisely in this subtle interpretation of their role as plenipotentiary monarchs, with vast resources and knowledge and nearly impossible to understand final goals.
While the truth has always been used by Mara with the delicacy of those who consider information a system capable of showing involuntary weaknesses, Savathun has always been directed towards manipulation of reality to transform it into a real weapon – a solid advantage against unprepared victims, to be unleashed at will.
We don’t know how Savathun will eventually extort the gift of Light that she seems to have gained in the post-Season DLC. We certainly have some fundamental clues. Her interest, in the role of Osivathun, in the Orator’s old recorded speeches, and the research on the Ghosts archived at the Tower are some examples; another important trace is the mission Osivathun assigned to Crow, for recovering some dozens of Ghost shells from the collection of the Spider.
If we consider that in the Season of Arrivals Savathun got in touch with Nokris, learning his necromantic abilities, we can hypothesize that all this has served to bring back to life dead Ghosts or their connection with the Light. Stealing the power of the Light without the consent of the Traveler is not an easy task, as evidenced by the tragic end of Ghaul, and it will be interesting to find out how Savathun intends to escape from her Worm in practice.
Another solution resides on Sagira. While officially declared dead, her demise has happened off-stage, which in fiction means that it is not as granted as it is meant to appear. If somehow, Savathun can siphon the Light from Sagira (one of the most powerful Ghost ever existed), or use a device similar to the Crown of Sorrow to manipulate her will, this could explain how she will get her hands on the Light. And, ultimately, will be interesting to have the goal to free Sagira to save Osiris, if he is still alive.
The inexperience of the new Techeuns could be another clue. As we have seen, although able to recover Mara from the Ley Lines, the recruits seem to suffer from the lack of experience as the elderly Ilyn feared. Is it, therefore, possible that during the ritual of exorcising the Worm of Savathun, they make a mistake or prove prone to corruption?
READ MORE: Destiny: 2 – Unraveling the Secrets of “Presage”
The Scorn, the Entity, and the Taken
Another huge knot to unravel is in the return of the Scorn. Their unprecedented ability to wield Stasis is not only an attempt by Bungie to reinvest in some old assets but also a consequence of the Glykon accident.
The Cabal Emperor Calus recklessly experimented with the Darkness, using the Crown of Sorrow as a connection device and the Scorn as a medium, to plug directly into the dark anomalies caused by the Black Fleet, near the lost planets. This created a link between the hive mind of the Scorn and the Darkness, which claimed the reins of this faction for itself. The whole Glykon accident is explained in great detail in this article.
Stasis, therefore, was given to the Scorn as an upgrade. Similarly, the Taken now serve another master – if we are to confirm the stories of the Books of Sorrow and what Savathun told us, their true master, We should probably refer to the Entity that stands at the other pole of the Darkness/Light dichotomy in Destiny.
This being, which is certainly the Winnower, is the apex of a pyramidal hierarchy to which all the dark forces in the field, from the Taken to the Hive, from the Scorn to the members of the mysterious and as yet undisclosed race of the Black Fleet, belong. Taking into the mix the big leak we had this year with the previews of the three major DLCs, we can assume that the mysterious “Witness” character found in the dialogues is the common name attributed to this character. We, therefore, have a kind of equivalence for the two forces, using the lore terms we have up until now:
The Gardener = The Traveler
The Winnower = The Witness
The leak is offering some other clues, such as the arrival of a Second Collapse and, apparently, an “even worse threat”, which we are not given to know anything about. It appears to be clear, then, that after or during the events of “The Witch Queen” DLC, the final threat will be introduced, even considering that the Hive arc will probably be solved.
“Of all the enemies you’ve fought, how many saw your Ghost and realized “Ah! That’s why Guardians are so strong!” How many saw beyond your Ghost? How many followed the line of your Light straight back to the Traveler? And how many knew enough to aim a weapon there? A few. The smart ones. The dangerous ones. You certainly recognize their names.
Listen to me now. Look beyond me to my worm. Look beyond my worm to something far, far worse.”
Savathun, in-game dialogue, week 5.
With the fall of Quria, Savathun has lost control of that fringe of the Taken that he could still manipulate, and this seems to have carried out the final phase of her plan, created to counter the eventuality that sooner or later, the Dark would have moved against her to punish her desire for independence.
And the independence of a powerful and refined mind like that of Savathun is certainly to be feared for the Entity. Savathun knows something about it, as confirmed by her cryptic weekly dialogues.
“As if you were incapable of lifting your eyes from a scrawl of chalk on the ground…
Savathun, in-game dialogue, week 2
The Traveler and the Light near one foot, your old enemies and the Darkness at the other.
Let me tell you a secret.
If you ever want to see what’s been watching you since the very beginning, just stand on that line and look… up.”
What many have naively interpreted as a practical act (looking up after hearing the dialogue), this is a classic metaphor. It is said that if you draw a chalk line on the ground in front of a hen, she can only stare at it uninterruptedly.
This is synonymous with a lack of intelligence, perception, understanding of the world around us. Savathun is pushing forward her hint about breaking the dichotomy that surrounds the universe of Destiny, as can also be understood by the approaching end of the story of Light and Darkness with the next three DLCs.
The note on the Taken is important, as it introduces a concept hitherto little expressed: that the Taken are not the final form of power the corruption can take, but an imitation of it.
There could be a whole native species of the dark dimension from which the Taken come, certainly comparable to the old concept of the Veil, the species that has the highest communion with the Darkness, to which the Entity belongs and which is part of a real civilization, whose Black Fleet is the vanguard – a culture, therefore, which has lived its own Golden Age in a dark key, which has never ended.
Last, the consequences of the Scorn direct connection to the Darkness have brought the figure of Calus back into play, and in a dialogue between Ikora and Mara Sov at the end of an Astral Alignment, mention is made that the fallen Cabal emperor is a current and serious problem, which Ikora wants to discuss with the queen in private form.
In a recent interview (which we will discuss later in the article), Bungie was keen to specify that Calus is an unsolved problem also (and above all, we would say) at a narrative level, which will – it seems – be solved in the future.
Uncovering the mysteries through the Ley Lines
There are many hidden dialogues within the Shattered Realm. Some of these sheds light on the entities operating between the Ley Lines.
“Moving through these realms can be misleading. You can desire something so badly that it changes. You can hear it calling to you. But it is only a rippling mirage, your desire twisting the energies of the plane. You can trust in those visions only as much as you can trust in yourself. “
Mara Sov, in-game dialogue (hidden cache #3 “The Intruder”)
So do we have a potential clue to the origin of the power of the Ahamkara? The interchangeable reality of the ascending realms appears to be sensitive to will. This is the basis for generating an ontological change, which the Ahamkaras could somehow connect to our reality. Could the paracausality of the wishing dragons come from the Ascendant World? Could they be natives of this unexplored dimension?
“The paracausal can influence this place with thought; tie two ends of our worlds together with their willpower. Something ruptured this place with the power of its desire alone”.
Mara Sov, in-game dialogue (hidden cache #3 “The Intruder”)
The recurrence of the term “desire” associated with ontological change is a clear reference to the Ahamkaras. We know that the Worms inhabit the darkest and most abysmal part of the Ascendant Realm, where it is possible that the core of the Darkness also resides… Which could have given life to this dimension out of its own free will. If the Worms are natives of the Ascendant Realm, it is, therefore, possible that the Ahamkaras are too, who have long been considered their natural foe.
In a final dialogue of the Astral Alignment, Mara has a contrast with Ikora when she states that with the full Techeun covenant it will be possible not only to exorcise the Worm of Savathun but also to regain possession of the Dreaming City.
This suggests that the resolution of the Curse of the City is near, as foretold by the fall of Riven first, and later of Quria. Savathun is the last link in this triangle of elements that are missing from the appeal, and therefore the mention of the Ahamkaras could be connected to all this.
A note on a couple of additional mysteries. Out of 13, only 7 Techeuns could be saved from the Ascendant Realm, thus leaving doubts about the remaining 6, which Petra assumes have lost their lives after the accident. What if the remaining Techeuns remained corrupted and under the control of Xivu Arath?
At her court, Mara Sov holds an artifact familiar to Destiny players who have experienced Forsaken: a corrupted egg from Ahamkara, behind an area, currently not conventionally reachable, but only via an off-map glitch.
Used as part of a long and twisted quest that saw the Wish Ender (the famous exotic bow that belonged to Sjur Eido), the only weapon capable of penetrating and destroying them. Could this egg play an important role at the end of the season?
Eris, and a foretold death
Why is Eris Morn not present in the story that finally sees Savathun showing herself? As anticipated on other occasions, the idea (or rather, the suspicion) was that Bungie is rarely able to manage several important characters at the same time; so, excluding Eris from the scene could have been a way to give more space to Ikora, Petra, Mara, Saint-14 and the Crow, as well as, of course, Savathun herself.
The confirmation comes from this recent article on GamesRadar, where, moreover, it is anticipated that Eris will return in the next DLC and that, probably, someone will not be able to survive future events. This is foretold by the return of the “Spoiler Alert” weapon, which heralded the end of Cayde-6 in Forsaken, and its flavor text:
“Someone is going to die.“
In our small list of NPCs “who may not make it”, we have Osiris at the top, for obvious reasons, and then all the NPCs tied to passable future vaulting destinations (Devrim Kay for the ZME, Failsafe for Nessus, and perhaps Petra for the Dreaming City and the Spider, whose situation we will explain later), as well as NPCs who are not active and useful vendors for gameplay, such as Ikora.
The list could be extended further because there is a lot to say, but we also want to add a couple more names.
Eris, of course, as with the closing of the Hive arc with the next DLC, is likely to exhaust her narrative purpose. Unless Bungie wants to keep her on its new role as interpreter of the Darkness, which would have its logic, Eris may no longer find a place in a world where the Hive no longer exists as a threat, as defeated, or even allied.
The other possibility is Queen Mara Sov. Despite being a leading character and a powerful ally, she is preparing Uldren/Crow for something important… as it always seems to have been in her plans to do.
This could mean, in one word, succession. It is therefore possible that Mara could not survive the unfolding of the events of the DLC, and it would be a nice twist for one of the most iconic characters…
Now that Uldren has matured into the character of the Crow, he is certainly a better man and, perhaps, the classic overcoming of the sum of the parts that would make him able to access the throne realistically. Only the future, of course, will tell us if our suspicions are well-founded.
READ MORE: Destiny 2: The Witch Queen details revealed
The Spider and the vaulting
A footnote for the Spider, the shady figure who since Forsaken has not only been the most useful vendor for infusions, but also what has always seemed like the opportunity for Bungie to introduce the degraded environment of the slums from classic Star Wars into Destiny – a typical setting which Destiny always lacked.
At the end of the penultimate weekly quest for Astral Alignment, Mara Sov declares her intentions regarding the Spider: to gather a team of Paladins with Petra at the head to remove it from the Tangled Shore, by any means possible.
It is a kill order. To support this part of the plot, we have an article by Bungie released in the same week, which announces the vaulting of part of the contents of Forsaken, specifically, of the Tangled Shore, and all the seasonal contents of Year 4 with some noticeable exceptions.
The queen’s decision, therefore, seems to be functional to a mechanical decision. But the lore motives are connected to the Spider’s treatment of Mara’s brother, although there may be more behind it. The torch of “king of the slums”, therefore, will ultimately pass into the hands of the Drifter, now the only shady and intractable character left in history, while technically, Master Rahool will handle the material vendor part.
While vaulting Forsaken, Bungie will save the Dreaming City – a first, since it will be separated from the old DLC content. This decision is important, considering that a destination as fascinating and artistically well-crafted as the Dreaming City is currently unique in Destiny 2, and removing it would have been a major blow.
With the arrival of the Savathun Throne World, we will have another ethereal destination, but tending to the dark side of the visual. The Dreaming City, on the other hand, is the perfect counterpart.
The vaulting controversy will certainly not be extinguished anytime soon and the farewell to the Tangled Shore will rekindle its flame if nothing else. In the leak table, we can see the words “bubble”, referring to the possible return of Mars… this could introduce a new concept that would benefit the whole idea of vaulting, which so far has seemed to have failed in the purpose of refresh the game. Introduce new or old remodeled areas, without taking all the explorable surfaces.
The classic example of a destination that could benefit from this is Io, a largely empty destination that needed to be cut and resized, rather than vaulted.
An inverse example is Titan, which could be expanded instead, with the addition of the Arcology inside the patrol area, and other locations that have been seen only in a vanilla mission or two. Cutting off destinations is a choice that impoverishes the variety of the Destiny world while reworking them seems the logical solution to prevent the franchise from slowly losing its legacy.
