Guardians (Destiny)

The Guardians are an organization that features in Destiny.

History

The Guardians were a group of warriors that were forged by the Light of the Traveler who created them to be the final hope of the universe and prevent it falling into Darkness. For centuries, they defended the last refuge of mankind on Earth known as the Last City. Scattered groups of survivors gathered at the site such as Takanome's Rangers who were the only protectors from the forces that would kill them. It was during this time that Ghosts created by the Traveler sought out Guardians from the ancient dead where they came to be referred to as the Risen and guided them in reclaiming the worlds lost to humanity after the end of the Golden Age. These Risen lacked a common unifying purpose despite wielding the power of the Light and came to serve as enforcers and bodyguards for the Factions that came to dominate the Last City. Among the earliest of these warriors instead of protecting the world sought to subjugate it where they became warlords. However, a group of noble Guardians sought to depose their tyrannical brethren and formed the Iron Lords who joined the cause in standing against the Warlords who were eventually deposed. With their defeat, the Iron Lords dedicating with the protection of mankind in the wake of the Collapse. In the City's early days, various factions had formed that vied for the hearts and minds of the refugee masses with power struggles threatening to shatter the tenuous power balance. This led to the a series of conflicts known as the Faction Wars that brought the City to its knees. At its height, a gathering of Guardians emerged that fought to end the chaotic war with them successfully bringing peace and a new order. Thus, the City Consensus was formed with the Speaker working with them to rule together whilst the surviving great factions began to work together who used more civil means to pursue their respective agendas.

Centuries after the Collapse, a stray Ghost came to revive a fallen warrior outside the Cosmodrome to become a new Guardian. The new recruit set about returning to the Last City and meeting the Vanguard that resided at the Tower. Afterwards, they were sent to respond to the threat from the Fallen House of Devils after which they learnt from the Speaker about the danger of the returning Darkness. This saw the Guardian travelling to the Moon thus encountering the Hive and helping restore the Warmind Rasputin thus re-establishing the defensive network in the Solar System. At this point, they received a mission to investigate a Hive threat on the Moon where it was discovered that the species was attempting to drain the Traveler of its light with this being thwarted. Contact was then made with the Stranger who told them of a threat rising from Venus and bade them to respond to it. This led to the Guardian encountering the Vex with the Stranger stating that the only way to save the Traveler was by destroying the heart within the Black Garden. Upon getting the aid of the Awoken on the Reef, the Guardian went about getting the eye of a Vex Gate Lord following the advice of Queen Mara Sov. This led to the Risen battling the Cabal in order to access the Vex technology to enter the region outside normal space-time in order to destroy the Heart allowing for Light to return to the Traveler. The Guardian then entered the Vault of Glass to kill the Vex leader Atheon that was the source of the machine race's reality-altering power.

Despite Crota's death, the mighty warrior sent out a call with his dying breath that went out into deep space and it was heard by his father the mighty Hive King Oryx. This resulted in him gathering his forces on the Dreadnaught and bringing them into the Solar System with his presence first detected by the Awoken at the Reef. They launched a pre-emptive strike against them but their forces were devastated by the Hive ruler who began to summon his Taken into the system where he intended to claim all living beings for the Darkness. The Vanguard first became aware of this threat when they investigated a distress signal at a Cabal base on Phobos leading to the first encounter with the Taken.

Members of the Owl Sector came to determine a new threat emerged when the Fallen House of Devils discovered a lost cache of Golden Age technology known as SIVA. This led to the SIVA Crisis when the Guardians came to battle the Fallen who had been experimenting with the advanced technology to enhance their forces.

A year later, the Guardians suffered heavy losses during the Red War when Cabal forces under Dominus Ghaul arrived in the Solar System to claim the power of the Traveler for themselves. This saw them strike at the City and attach a device on the Traveler thus cutting off its light from the Guardians. As a result, many lost their connection to the Light and even lost the ability to resurrect at the hands of their Ghosts. With the City destroyed, the Lightless Guardian's scattered where a number of them rallied under the leadership of Commander Zavala who had them regroup on Titan at the ruined New Pacific Arcology. They intended to establish a base there through which they could stage attacks against the Red Legion in order to retake the system from the Cabal. However, the Guardians were pursued by the Fallen House of Dusk along with a new Hive sect that had begun to establish itself in the depths of the Arcology. A Guardian arrived at the settlement on Titan who had managed to reconnect with the Light of the Traveler whereupon they had renewed hope in the war against the dangers facing humanity. By this point, Zavala came to learn that the Red Legion possessed a superweapon known as the Almighty that threatened to destroy the Solar System and he intended to launch a mission to destroy it but required the aid of the Vanguard. Thus, the Guardian sought out Cayde-6 on Nessus and Ikora Rey on Io who were brought back to rendezvous as the Farm thus re-establishing the Vanguard who sought a coordinated strike to defeat Dominus Ghaul.

Whilst investigating the Moon, Eris Morn came upon a new threat to humanity when she found the Hive using their magics to summon Nightmares using the power of the Pyramid. From this, she determined that the Darkness was awakening once again as the Pyramid was a part of the force that had caused the Collapse. In response, the Young Wolf was dispatched to aid her in pushing back the Hive on the Moon and preventing them from succeeding in their goals.

Seeking to remove the House of Light, Lakshmi-2 attempted to use the Device to create a Vex portal to banish the Eliksni into the depths of space. However, from the gateway emerged a force of Vex that began to attack the City and kill Lakshmi-2 in the process. The Guardians were ultimately able to close the portal thus saving the City and the Eliksni from destruction with this chain of events bringing about the dissolution of the Future War Cult and an end to the factions.

Overview

Organisation

In appearance, the Guardians were a military organization formed of individuals connected to the Traveler and sought to protect the Solar System from all threats whether they were alien or born within the system. They were tasked with bringing peace and order whilst also defending the Traveler as well as the City. Each Guardian was chosen from the dead by one of the Ghosts of the Traveler and consisted of the rare few individuals that could wield its Light as a weapon. As such, they could include members of either the Human, Awoken and Exo races. A key ability of Guardians was the power to wield the Traveler's Light and channel this energy to project vast sums of power into the world. When in this state, they radiated energy and could wield it to achieve destruction with he bearer using it in a variety of ways depending on their speciality.

Lightbearers were capable of achieving various feats with this power. Some could harness the power of solar energy that was tied to combustion, heat and nuclear fusion. They could use this to charge their gun with solar energy and fire it as destructive blasts capable of incinerating a target or badly wounding them. Others could wield arc energy that was tied to electricity and electromagnetism allowing Guardians to generate lightning bolts and other electromagnetic phenomena. Alternatively, they could use void energy that channelled dark energy/matter and gravitational attraction allowing the wielder to generate black holes, spatial warps, and other distortions of spacetime. This could be tapped into to generate an explosive, large area-of-effect attack. A new power named stasis could be tapped into by Guardians with this not coming from the Light but from the Darkness. This ability was tied to cold and the cessation of movement on a macroscopic and atomic level.

It was possible to kill a Guardian permanently though this required destroying their Ghost first. Once deprived of the ability to resurrect, the Guardian themselves were vulnerable and if killed then they could not be revived again.

There were a number of different specializations for Guardians that included:

• Hunter : stealth-based scouts that stalk the wilderness outside the City in order to reclaim the secrets of mankind's lost worlds who were experts with knives and precision weapons. Sub-specialties include Gunslingers, Blade Dancers, Nightstalkers, Arcstriders and Revenants.
• Titan : warrior defenders that were gifted with the Light to wage war on the Darkness that used blunt force to achieve the Traveler's will. Sub-specialties include Striker, Defender, Sunbreakers, Sentinels and Behemoths.
• Warlock : warrior-scholars that devoted themselves to the understanding of the Traveler along with its power with their secrets balanced between godhood and madness with them using this on the battlefield to shatter reality. Sub-specialties include Sunsingers, Voidwalkers, Stormcallers, Dawnblades, and Shadebinders.

There were several factions within the City that consisted of groups of Guardians that included:

• Dead Orbit : their theology formed from fatalism that morphed into an obsession with worlds beyond Earth with their focus being the creation of a starfaring fleet that they acquired from various means.
• Future War Cult : the FWC was a militaristic faction that believed war with the Darkness was inevitable and that they could not escape it which was why the advocated being ready to fight it.
• New Monarchy : a group who believed in law and order with them seeking to restore the Golden Age of mankind. Its leaders were known to hold the title of Executor.
• Queen's Wrath :
• Symmetry : a faction who followed the teachings of Ulan-Tan that believed that the Darkness and the Traveler worked in a form of cosmic balance with the two operating in a much needed symmetry with one another. The believed that the Traveler sacrificed itself to defeat the Darkness for their sake and that to repay this act of good they needed to heal it. Its philosophy was considered too dangerous and fearful by the rest of the Consensus.
• Concordat :
• Cult of Osiris :

In addition, there were other groups of Guardians such as Ikora Rey's Hidden that were a clandestine group tasked with infiltrating enemy strongholds and gathering vital intel for the Warlocks. Within the City, the ruling body that kept the factions under control was the Consensus that was headed by the Speaker. Below him were the elite Vanguards that were veteran Guardians who coordinated their fellows in the defense of the City. Key allies of the Guardians were the Cryptarchs that were crypto-archaeologist who decrypted matter engrams and unveiling new artifacts or relics. A civilian based scientific organization known as the Owl Sector were responsible for aiding the Vanguard in studying along with repurposing lost Golden Age technology.

It was forbidden for one of the Risen Guardians to learn about their past as upon their revival they knew nothing of their past life. Due to Ghosts reviving them, a branch among the Guardians known as thanatanauts formed that consisted of individuals that committed suicide only to be restored to life. These individuals underwent such practices as they felt that it brought about clarity of thought from the experience by being deceased and then resurrected. A group of non-Guardian's became disciples of an exiled Warlock by the name of Osiris where they came to refer to themselves as the Cult of Osiris who followed his teachings. One of the earliest groups of Guardians were the Iron Lords that formed to depose the Warlords that terrorised the people and came to protect mankind. After their fall, a second generation of Iron Lords was formed who took the name of Iron Wolves. Eververse Trading Company was a company that had numerous branches in the Solar System and did business with Guardians.

A number of gruelling challenges were held at the Crucible whereby Guardians fought one another in open combat. It was based on a practice before the days of the City and the Iron Lords where it was a place to pursue vendettas, battle for territory or pettier reasons. The modern Crucible was considered a gambler's paradise and a place where tactics or techniques were honed for war. These engagements made use of live-fire though Ghosts were present to save anyone from death. Within the Crucible, Guardians honed their survival skills that were vital to their continued existence whether hey were alone or part of a Fireteam. Challenges in these competitions also allowed for a Guardian to win the patronage of one of the factions at the City. In addition, it allowed them to train against more formidable enemies without fear of disaster.

Their headquarters was the Tower located within the City on Earth that was the last place of refuge for mankind as it was protected by the Traveler. They later established an operation's outpost in the City to coordinate operations with this site being known as the Hub for Emergency Logistics and Maneuvers (H.E.L.M.).

Equipment

Each was accompanied a Ghost that provided advice and support for them on missions. They were built from machinery and the Traveler's Light where they seek to guide their Guardian in the quest to reclaim the solar system. Ghosts acted as a scout, librarian and mechanic where they were able to help revive their companion from near death.

Guardians made use of Frames that were simple automata built at the City. These machines were not equipped for true general sentience but were useful enough to conduct tasks such as cleaning, maintenance or service. Frames were able to learn and even develop personality quirks or behaviours over their long lifespans.

In terms of vehicles, Guardians were known to make use of hoverbikes known as Sparrows that they could materialise and travel over the surface of a planet. For more offensive capability there was the Drake Tank that had been built by Holiday that had a main cannon and missiles that could be used against enemies.

For a Guardian to operate effectively, they were required to possess a jump ship that allowed them mobility to navigate the entire solar system. Some of these utilised an NLS Drive that were a kind of Warp Drive used for space travel.

Members

• Cayde-6 :
• Ikorra :
• Zavala :
• Shaxx :
• Osiris :
• Ana Bray : female human who was formerly Dr. Anastasia Bray of the House of Bray who was Risen by her Ghost where she eventually did the forbidden which was learn of her past life and attempt to reconnect with her legacy that included making contact with the Warmind Rasputin.
• Fenchurch Everis :
• Sloane : a female human Titan Guardian Titan Guardian who served as a Deputy Commander under Zavala in the Vanguard Scout and was stationed on Titan.
• Micah-10 :
• Kei-Ying :
• Asher Mir : a male Awoken Warlock who was a researcher with the Gensym Scribes that specialized in study of the Vex.
• Crow : a male Awoken who was formerly Prince Uldren Sov of the Reef.

Notes

• Guardians were created by Bungie where they served as the player's avatar and featured in the setting of the Destiny universe.

Appearances

• Destiny:
• Desiny 2:

External Links

• Destinypedia Entry

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