Destiny 2 Lore - The Traveller's Blade Reveals it's thoughts & was found on our grave.

[@riskrunner4532]

At this point, I don't read the exotic lore tabs knowing that Byf will read it to me like a teacher reading a class Dr Seuss.

[@formerlyknownasmousecopp4367]

Byf: "Ok class, please open to the chapter on Ergo Sum. I presume you all did the required reading.... *sigh* of course you didn't"

[@tromar5758]

I honestly doubt any of you accounts, who name themselves after destiny guns, could read in the first place

[@TheGoldenShot11]

​bro I named myself after disparity on total accident

[@Sean-ul2ib]

Real

[@riskrunner4532]

@@tromar5758 I mean at least I come up with actual comments unlike your most recent "stab" comment a lobotimite could randomly type. Or your other well constructed "I'll take it" 3 weeks ago truly awe inspiring 👏 👏 👏.

[@kevindunne6123]

I think the full quote is, Dubito, ergo cogito, ergo sum. ("I doubt, therefore I think, I think therefore I am")

[@fonfiff]

I think the ornament is named dubito cogito or something

[@Catalyst375]

Meanwhile, the Witness was made to be a being incapable of doubt by the Precursors, and we saw the consequences of that.

[@ballboys607]

The original quote was "cogito, ergo sum". But later to clarify his statement, Descartes explained by saying "dubito, ergo sum, vel, quod idem est, cogito, ergo sum". This translates to "I doubt, therefore I am, or in the same way, I think, therefore I am."

[@SepticEmpire]

@@fonfiffhow you get that ornament

[@MynameisByf]

@@ballboys607 legitimately glad to have people with a better grasp of Descartes than myself in the comments section. It's been a long time since I've had to remember philosophical arguments and I'm glad to have even a half grasp of it... The day they bring in Emmanuel Kant is the day I skip trying to explain philosophy.

[@johnmason7628]

19:05 I think that this is referring to the Hive turning to the Witness. The Traveler wanted to uplift the Krill, the Krill instead went down into the Deep to become the Hive, and eventually Savathun came back to the Traveler to be reborn.

[@wildman274]

This is after the red war section. This is our guardian coming back to the traveler after being tempted by the darkness with stasis.

[@wildman274]

Though I can see yours as well

[@markymark3449]

This is exactly how I interpreted that paragraph too. I don't think it refers to our Guardian because the last paragraph kind of reveals our guardian is special to the Traveler in a way ("you've reached out to them, so many times before"). Whereas the one referred to in the paragraph you are referencing is given no such distinction. I also don't think it means much that this paragraph is after the Red War, this whole thing is so stream of consciousness that I would never assume it is 100% chronological.

[@MynameisByf]

The more I think of it, even with the other possible interpretations, the more I think you're right. If only they'd included a pronoun here. The use of "She" would've all but confirmed Savathun.

[@adarkwind4712]

​@@MynameisByf . . . . . . Isn't the first encounter of Crota's end literally called the abyss? How does this *not* indicate eris and her fireteam?

[@RubysWrath]

I agree with most of this. The key lesson here is that the traveler truly does care about life. About us. And that it didnt want to release the ghosts. It sees the powers of the light as a burden. And it didnt want to force a destiny on anyone. It wants to reach out but not order us. It wants to help us. This is so important to finally confirm. The traveler has always been silent because it finds it cruel to take away our purpose and become an object of worship. But it loves granting us gifts and watching us use them. If it wasnt so threatened it would never have guided us at all. And maybe most interestingly. It doesnt react badly to use using the darkness. It sees it at decay sure. But it almost seems...Pleasantly surprised? Like its a spectator among our many that are in awe of our actions and choices. The traveler is essentially the biggest fan of life. Always helping how it can. But never wanting the spotlight.

[@crawdad]

Wonderful take.

[@zezia333]

I don't know about itr wanting to stay silent. The lore tab really hammers home that the it wants to scream out and warn people about what was coming and it was desperate for people to lisiten.

[@saitamaonepunchman8176]

"The traveler is essentially the biggest fan of life. Always helping how it can. But never wanting the spotlight." definitely sounds like gardener behavior to me, someone who cares for and keeps a garden alive, but ultimately the flowers (us/the universe/ghosts) are the ones who deserve the spotlight this is a great lore tab overall but it seems to further confirm the existence (including all the other hints from the final shape) of the gardener and the winnower as actual entities within the world

[@OrgXIII4U]

Well said, completely agree

[@MumboJumboZXC]

It didn’t want to force a *TITLE SCREEN*

[@gracecalis5421]

I like that the name of the sword is also a nod to the nature of Guardians and the Traveller. It's simply called "I am" rather than "I think, therefore, I am" because we are paracausal. There is no causality necessary for us to simply be, we simply just ARE. Guardians make our own fate, after all.

[@10001vader]

Technically, the sword’s name translates as “therefore I am” which does imply causality, but doesnt give a cause itself

[@redddraig8796]

o

[@rielaxault]

I am that I am.

[@zallow8794]

@@10001vader The cause being left out probably means that it's up to us to decide, our reason for existing, or as the Witness said, our purpose, at least I think. Nice & poetic

[@thizzmonkey7846]

As a Christian man I draw many parallels to my faith when it comes to destiny. And the way my mind works is pretty simple; this is me fighting for God and those that choose him. My purpose is to fight for and protect others so I'm doing what I did in my previous life. Guardians aren't supposed to look up their past. And if I'm my guardian then I was always willing to die for others. To fight for others. To defend those that couldn't defend themselves. So I'll go to my grave knowing that the gardener gave me another chance to do what I love and that is keep the people around me from dying undo deaths and being preyed upon by the wicked and depraved

[@noahdonaghy1083]

“The cause of our death is currently unknown , the fact we do die at some point in the future does imply their is a more terrible threat than the witness, lurking on the horizon, a threat who’s power exceeds anything we’ve seen before” (dies 2000 times to Randal the vandal)

[@chibioniyuri]

That imagery of the Traveler drowning in the Deep and recognizing us desperately trying to reach it is such evocative imagery, it made me weep.

[@johngancarcik5682]

But would that have been subverted when we visited it to claim bastion

[@RootsRemain]

What if this was to be our fate. Perhaps in that timeline when we confronted the witness. We won in the same way we did in this timeline, at the cost of our ghost. Because of Cayde, our light was restored but what if Cayde wasn’t there? Yes, at some point our guardian will die but who’s to say that this grave is of our timeline. I believe that this was to be our fate before Cayde’s intervention.

[@tcfh2003]

Goes to show just how powerful wish magic is. Seems to outclass even other forms of paracausality like the light and the dark.

[@BallorIonYT]

I have exactly the same feeling - Devotion. Bravery. Sacrifice. Death. But Crow’s wish changed the fate of our Ghost, so we’re no longer lightless and vulnerable in the Post-Witness power vacuum

[@lordpumpkinhead265]

That's what I'm thinking as well. Our Guardian beat the Witness at the cost of our own immortality, but because of Crow's wish magic altering the timeline we were able to survive beyond what should have been our end.

[@da_funkknight]

Hmmm…. Maybe that is why elsie always go back to Cayde’s day of becoming vanguard. The winning timeline is where Cayde hands off Vanguard to crow.

[@Doktor_CC]

Thanks Crow (and Riven), you prevented out final death!

[@EnderSh4dow]

one thing i absolutely love about this expansion is how gentle the traveler is portrayed. Not just Ergo Sum's lore but also all the little travelers you find throughout the pale heart to get Kvostov add to the gentleness of the traveler. The lighthouse keeper from this sword's lore and how its implied that the traveler doesn't quite understand worship from the collectables are some of my personal favorite bits from final shape.

[@Kjf365]

Traveler is just like "bro I'm just here to give these guys cool technology and make their lives better and stuff. Now they're praying or something??? Help???"

[@thedoomslayer5863]

I find it a bit stupid tbh, if it's so powerful how it can not use common sense. You can't just have magical powers and start making miracles happen without being seen as some kind of God that eventually gets worshipped

[@skelint]

​@@thedoomslayer5863 because it's a primordial force from the foundations of the universe? why would it have any concept of "common sense" at all? you're thinking of the traveller as a person, when it isn't. it doesn't think like us at all. it doesn't know what it is to worship something, it has no ideas of faith.

[@omgitsnathan5204]

@@thedoomslayer5863 “WHY DOES THIS FAKE SCI FI GOD NOT HAVE COMMON SENSE??!!” Seriously bro, please read a book 😂

[@yasininn76]

The "sci fi" god has a corporeal form and enough "common sense" to LITERALLY TALK TO PEOPLE THROUGH DREAMS. How is that not enough common sense to understand fucking worship y'all?

[@Xenronnify]

The bit about Ghaul actually brought me to tears- to know that the Traveler _heard_ Ghaul, and nearly wanted to give him and his people the Light, but held back because he wanted it too harshly, and because it would only condemn them to the same fate all species the Traveler touched seemed to earn. Also, the idea that the Traveler's voice is too faint for anyone to truly hear is HEARTBREAKING. It wants to share its Light and guide every being who it touches, and yet literally cannot breach that wall of Silence. Im not sure if anyone in the history of the Light has ever had this idea- that the Traveler waan't silent by choice, but by its own nature.

[@johndoe1274]

Speaking involves the idea of consciousness, and the darkness lays claim to consciousness. It's unfortunate that the traveler can't have the best of both worlds. This is also why the light makes us forget; there is quite literally no ability to within the light.

[@DawnBerry66]

I love how the Traveler is very caring and truly loves the people it helps, yet feels bad about the burden it gives as well. It really feels like a character with hopes, desires, and worries just like us.

[@YogiBearGaming6878]

Ngl, hearing the traveler’s perspective on the story actually brings me to tears, basically since it’s conception it has known mostly tragedy and fear and yet it tries its best to help whoever it can anyway, the traveler has to be pretty depressed most of the time…

[@sonawhite8813]

Honestly wished ghaul would have become a mvp within the traveler he became such a massove spectacle of light at the end or red war. I had high hopes to see him again. Either as an ally. Or an enemy

[@MelancholicBodhisattva]

I think it's notable that the sword models are technically different if you really look at it. I like also like to believe that the difference is important; the Traveler refining and reimagining a sword that symbolized our final death, symbolizing a new beginning and hope.

[@soraxstacy1477]

Bungie Devs admitted that Ergo Sum is the sword on our Guardian's grave

[@MelancholicBodhisattva]

@@soraxstacy1477 I'm also aware that they confirmed it. I just see it like a Rose to Lumina upgrade.

[@EncoreBesti]

​@kyleespinoza7201 I still the same look

[@godwhy7738]

​@EncoreBesti the ghost is a separate piece on our grave

[@Rhulksgloriouslegs]

? the sword models are the exact same

[@wolfrosefrost5475]

15:23 Looking at the man reaching for a book, the Traveler could be referencing to when Zavala tries to bring back his son, the books representing the lives of the universe, adding to the pile of books upon death.

[@Lamp37820]

100%. Zavala is the character most portrayed as carrying burdens. Like if someone said "what destiny character carries the most burdens" you would say Zavala.

[@daviddelgadillo4502]

And “engraved in quarts means his sons name on the grave

[@ivanoflavender9523]

I’m so certain that it is Zavala

[@haydenb8911]

It was my idea that this was about cayde. He should be dead and forever engrained in the light, but one man, through a wish, took him back

[@Lamp37820]

@@haydenb8911 I think the books are the representation of the stories of every guardian and their ghost. The man is reaching for a new book. I think it is referring to Zavala reaching out to the traveler to give his son the light so he can be resurrected.

[@crasterlongshanks4284]

In saint's eulogy, he mentions that he doesn't truly think we are dead, maybe that funeral could take place after a battle where we are "lost"

[@knightofavalon86]

The last time I was this early Pulse Rifles and Scout Rifles had their models swapped

[@DioStandProud]

You dug deep for that reference holy shit 😭😂

[@jackryan5880]

Wait is this the reason Bad Juju is still a pulse despite having a scout frame ?

[@Vestovy7]

They pay him... Stop listening to this guy

[@DioStandProud]

@@Vestovy7 Why on this green earth would I stop listening to Byf just because A). You told me so? B). Bungie is allegedly paying him? Why do I care if this awesome human being who has given this community and through other efforts his real life community so much as a result of his work is being paid by Bungie if you were right?

[@DanYami]

wait wh

[@SH1NK1R01]

One interesting thing about the traveler referring to the risen being books from a stack is that it gives more context to the fact that ghosts are born to only resurrect a single guardian wether that guardian exists yet or not. If the traveler has some form of stockpile or codex of sorts it would mean that by extension the gardener knows who has live AND who will live in the future. I say this because ghosts have been documented as being spawned decades and even centuries prior to the game without ever having found their guardian. With some having found their guardian only recently. Like with crow whose ghost was spawned far prior to his demise but was always meant to be his ghost somehow.

[@Drazentetsuken]

To me the Ergo sum is like the coolest lore I’ve ever seen. This is the sword we know without a shadow of a doubt we die holding and yet when we see it embedded in that statue we grab it by the handle and make our own fate.

[@thomasallen9974]

Is it not the most Guardian thing to do? It is not the first time our character has altered fate. Time and again we challenge forces beyond our control, only to succeed in changing the tides. The story doesnt point it out often, but we are the singular lynch pin to changing the doomed fate of humanity, and it seems countless others.

[@HoneyDoll894]

why do you think we know beyond a shadow of a doubt we will die holding it? the vex have simulated multiple endings for us that we've averted, I don't understand why people think our grave is, pun intended, set in stone

[@Epsilon_55]

Absolutely agree. There's just something so metal about the Guardian seeing it again, knowing exactly where he's seen it before and what it could mean, and taking it anyway.

[@reggielacey2235]

The model is different

[@vuvuzela4570]

Every guardian will die. You can’t live forever. If you can die, you will. Maybe not in the next decade. Maybe not even in centuries to come. But eventually, our guardian will die. Why would the guardian try to stop that by not taking the sword when they can use the sword to fight until the day they can’t?

[@mrfunk-z6w]

I think the second paragraph isn't referring to one species/planet in particular, but instead a reference to everywhere the Traveler visited before Sol. The line that specifically stands out to me is the last one, "You love them too much to condemn them so". I think the "condemnation" is a reference to what would happen if the Traveler stayed with one civilization for too long, it knows that the Witness/Black Fleet would destroy anyone who lived with or fought for it. So out of this "love" for the peoples it blessed, it would always run rather than stay and doom the people that worshiped the Traveler.

[@Joehovah]

Condemnation could be even simpler to say - The Traveller did not want civilizations to worship it, but loved them too much to tell them not to and break their hearts / faith.

[@crazytexan711]

The section at 19:00 SCREAMS the story of the hive/savathun. The idea that the Krill were sent into the oceans of Fundament to discover the worms, and turning to darkness until their entire civilization is serving it, only for savathun to show back up to the Traveler fits SO well

[@magetsalive5162]

If this is indeed the event being referenced by that specific passage, then I am more confident in claiming that the Echo which is supposedly going to show up at the Dreadnought was specifically sent there by the Traveler itself. Having seen that even one of the Krill so far gone as Savathun was able to come back and reach out, why not try it with Oryx?

[@midnighthydro7434]

I think that Eris and her fireteams failed attack on crota makes WAY more sense

[@yikes_xiii]

@@midnighthydro7434 that's what i was thinking too, but most if not all of the other passages are somewhat larger scale events happening. it's hard to imagine the traveler was ACTUALLY talking about a fireteam of 6

[@midnighthydro7434]

@yikes_xiii it was a big event, its the entire reason why crota ended up dying, which lead to oryx, which lead to Ghaul, then lead to the Witness.

[@qazisgone7292]

​@@midnighthydro7434The story of the hive is bigger

[@doubleclutch7340]

It feels like the paragraph at 18:48 is talking about the hive. How they fled the traveler by entering the abyss and the one that surprised the traveller was Savathun

[@midnighthydro7434]

OR it could be the much more obvious answer with it being the failed attack on Crota and Eris is the one who came back. Like i mean the first encounter of Crotas End is literally called Abyss

[@Scyth0r]

It's absolutely that. The entire story of the hive is them being corrupted by the siblings and turning to The Deep. Everything about the Hive is supoosed to be linked to death and decay, so Savathun retuning to the traveller smelling of decay makes perfect sense.

[@cee_ves]

the paragraph about stargazers chasing the traveller might just be golden age humanity, with the traveller terraforming worlds which we then settled. the passage seems to be chronological, but there’s nothing really going against the possibility that the traveller was warning us, and then the next paragraph described its reaction when the collapse started

[@afernandezaf55af]

It also sounded that way to me. Most of this is the Traveler's experience with humanity. It's feeling tired from all of running it's done

[@Kjf365]

I think it's really just a blanket reference to all the civilizations it uplifted over time. They all abandoned whatever they were doing prior in order to worship it as a god, which we find out from the Traveler statues that it didn't really understand why they would do that.

[@thedoomslayer5863]

​@@Kjf365 Funny how it can't understand why some magic ball giving powers beyond reason would be worshipped, seems like common sense

[@Kjf365]

@@thedoomslayer5863 The Traveler doesn't see the universe the same as everyone else. It seems like it doesn't even understand what it is itself. It just loves life and wants to spread its gifts. Almost like a child in a way. It doesn't have a concept of power and control over others, or what worship even means.

[@thedoomslayer5863]

@@Kjf365 didnt one of the lore cards say it didnt understand what it was deified and didnt like it? if so it does understand these concepts but for some reason not why its being deified which would be dumb.

[@MasterCJ117]

I considered the one about 'Reaching back' was the Hive, going "down, down, down, into the abyss, and Savathuun reaching back was just as surprising to the Traveler as it was to us.

[@Xeno-75]

Yeah when I first heard that myself, I was thinking that as well.... it was only thing that made sense to me

[@midnighthydro7434]

Eris coming back from her failed attack on Crota makes much more sense

[@Rhulksgloriouslegs]

just commented this and then saw your comment lol

[@Rhulksgloriouslegs]

@@midnighthydro7434 what? not at all

[@midnighthydro7434]

@Rhulksgloriouslegs yeah it does, reread the paragraph and tell me how that doesnt fit the story of Eris to a T. The first encounter of Crotas End is literally called Abyss

[@crocadillius6418]

I really like the idea that the Traveler is so stricken with love that it has done what it has done, and that it is pleased that we reach back to it. It’s comforting

[@akriusfinch]

Even though this is the "traveler/guardian's sword" I really want the blade we used to destroy the statues, the greatsword with a blade of the luminescent strength of the light

[@dankerbell]

it does have an ornament slot, maybe it'll get one later in the episode that makes it look like that

[@chem2430]

​@dankerbell the one currently in the API looks like roots from the tree of silver wings wound around the guard and handle then connected to the ghost-hilt, but no changes to the blade(from what I can see)

[@Fenyxclips]

I just want that animation on a sword. The current way we swing swords is a bit...dull due to being on nearly them all aside from 2 frames.

[@kevingross6774]

I thought it was supposed to be implied that it is the relic sword

[@KermitOfWar]

We'd be using the sword with the slogan, "I used the stones to destroy the stones. It...nearly killed me, but the job is done." -Thanos 😮

[@The_Trickster]

This expansion to me has really given me a bond to the traveller more than ever before

[@DigiThorn]

18:48 I’m willing to bet that “the one reaching back wreaking of decay” is Savathun, makes the most amount of sense to me seeing as the Krill (proto-hive) were originally chosen by the Traveler before being taken by the Witness (and also both the Hive and Worms referred to the darkness as “the deep” so the chasm and reference to others going down that chasm makes sense in that context)

[@dennyr.7193]

I think the passage with the books is an analogy to memories and its connection to Darkness. The Traveler is holding on to Memories of those who died, it "remembers" them, but memories are heavy and drag it "down", to the Darkness. But it takes all of its strength to carry those memories, as a being of the light. Being unable to do anything else, but to hold on to those we've lost. That is also why we would be "all connected" by the light. Also, maybe by holding on to those memories, it's like keeping pieces from being taken off the field, like in chess.

[@wiickedanubis6158]

Hearing the travelers perspective on events that had occurred during its span of life, has really enlightened me on how the traveler may officially be referred to as a "character"of some sort. Seeing the remorse, grief and desire to commune shows that the traveler could be building up to be an even bigger character than to be expected. So excited to see what is to come!

[@aspserpent]

got emotional reading the lore tab lowkey lol

[@jakublesko4847]

Same.

[@crocadillius6418]

So did I, just a touch

[@reggielacey2235]

Trash

[@aspserpent]

@@reggielacey2235 calling anything trash wit a sonic pfp is insane

[@filthyphill8988]

@@reggielacey2235 trash -🤡

[@carl493]

The imagery of the traveller calling out for help without anyone to hear is incredibly powerful and I personally love this interpretation of them, I hope we do get to listen to their stories one day, the burden of being unable to save untold civilizations is unimaginable.

[@claptrapp.claptrappington7624]

The Tower of Books passage could have any number of interpretations to it, but my guess is it is about loss. The "books" are memories, the lives of those deceased, the innumerable casualties of this timeworn war. The man in question could be anyone, anyone who's experienced loss like Zavala, begged and pleaded the Traveler to bring back their loved ones, and though it wants to tell them that it mourns too, that it must bear the burden of death just like them, it cannot. The one about the chasm is 100% about the Hive, and more specifically Savathun, who went down down down into that abyss with her sisters, and yet came back up from that path and still reached out to the traveler.

[@OrgXIII4U]

I think the second paragraph, about Stargazers, is more generalized. It could be talking about any and every group the Traveler touches, because every group with Traveler has done exactly what is written: looked up to it, devoted themselves, sacrificed for it.

[@RubysWrath]

I get the vibe the traveler is speaking more in metaphor than directly about any one species. Its easy to focus on trying to solve every question but I dont think that is the point here. I think the point is what its actually saying. About how it sees itself. How it sees its role. I think its a mistake to focus in on trying to figure out exact details especially when the actual things its saying are vastly more interesting. I dont care about species number 13. I care about what the traveler is and why it does what it does. And that confirmation is more valuable by miles.

[@xXLordGesusXx]

Dear Byf I've been watching your videos for years. Ive put your stories on during work and some of the worst times of my life. You've seen me thru both the best and the worst. And for that you have my thanks sir. You're a compliment to your community and to the traveler. I will see you star side my friend and may the light and the traveler be with you always guardian

[@TyDreacon]

Two things I find really interesting: One, this is written in second-person. It is the Traveler's view of events, but it isn't them speaking. Someone else is speaking for them. And it is also speaking to them. Two, as mentioned, the phrase is "cogito ergo sum"-I think, therefore I am. But the word "I think" is truncated. The Veil, and Darkness by extension, revolves around thought and memory. This could be a nod to the Veil's connection to the Traveler. The Traveler is mute not just because it chooses to be, but because its voice was rent from itself. As if thought was removed from what it is. But if that's the case, we may then ask: how willing was it to be separated from its voice? This tells us it wished to reach out, to speak to us, yet couldn't. Did it really choose to become mute? Or did something else make that choice for it?

[@mattboy5296]

I think it may have willingly muted itself despite wanting to actually converse with the different species it blessed. My reason for believing this is tied to Byf's theory that the Traveler beyond all else wants the species it blesses to make their own meaning, their own fate. The Traveler would love to speak and confide with the lives it encounters and enriches just like any other living being, but it realizes that its position in granting powers and other paracausal gifts means that every species it encounters inevitably deiefies it through no desire of its own. If it were to speak and offer its perspective on things, then the beings it encounters would deify it even more and thus lose their self-made purposes. They would cast aside the freedom to choose their own destiny and purpose and replace it with deriving their purpose from the Traveler and being subservient to its will, wanting the Traveler to *give* them purpose. And that's fundamentally the opposite of what the Traveler wants. So, despite its personal desires to communicate, it decides that its desire to see the life it cultivates be the masters of their own futures to be of greater importance, and so becomes silent. The downside to this, of course, are the times it feels it desperately needs to communicate out of necessity or to show that it is compassionate and understanding that cannot be expressed, and so it has to be cryptic with its messgaes/warnings or just flat out leave in order to try and save the species from the Witness, but in doing so it potentially makes the species it blessed feel betrayed and abandoned despite doing what it does to try and save them.

[@thedoomslayer5863]

​@@mattboy5296 it should just break its own rules for once or stop being so selfish and be more hands on when it has to be

[@hellopop3342]

byf your the reason I know any lore at this point

[@terepypypes4214]

i cant get the parallels of "i look down at my hand and see the first knife" and "you reach back, and in your hand is a sword" out of my head. i think it says a lot to discredit the assertion that guardians walk the pattern of the winnower that our weapons are raised not to strike first, but to strike back. a weapon not intended to stab in the back, but to defend those behind us. its such a subtle parallel across years of lore books but its wonderful to see it realised

[@RubysWrath]

Almost certainly correct on the decay part. It mentioning multiple people almost certainly makes it us. Fascinating that the traveler is so utterly shocked that we managed to learn the darkness. And it equally shocked that we still chose it despite that.

[@HeavySte3l]

I've recently had this idea even though it's probably a long shot or a reach, that the traveler is like some kind of entity that is legit just really fascinated by us, and as it doesn't seem to want to burden us as you say with purpose it simply imbues is with great powers to watch our journeys unfold as they do. I view it as an omnipotent cheerleader for the guardians simply excited to watch us do our missions and raids and crucible matches. It's our biggest fan and I love that idea 😆

[@thedoomslayer5863]

I think it like the gardener wants in a weird way all life to "win" or be allowed to play even if it doesn't win. Whereas the darkness basically just cares about "the meta" being that one final shape that always won in the end. But in its own way the winnower/darkness kind of cares or at least claims to care about the losers too. That it views the gardener/light giving them powers or boons as giving them false hope that they to might win when they will inevitably lose to the final shape. Tldr: light wants multiple forms of life to be meta, darkness knows there is only one meta and hates the light for trying to change that and give others false hope

[@RodrigoLeaf15]

One note is that, besides the blade, there's a lot more lore about the perspective of the Traveler through one of the collectionables, Micah receives some visions from them and they are juicy nuggets of lore :3

[@RyanMorgan1212]

19:27 this to me sounds like the Hive. The Krill becoming the Hive, then Savathun crawling back and reaching for the Traveler.

[@trypticon8619]

Loving the lore vids and final shape as a whole, this is great

[@aceofaces0007]

What I find interesting about this lore tab is its use of 2nd person perspective of "You." It gives the vibe of the Traveler giving us players a dream through this weapon and the Traveler is recounting that dream for us. Instead of such a dream providing vague guidance on the present and near future, this is a dream that explains the past and provides some perspective, perspective that is still somewhat open to interpretation, as is the nature of the Traveler.

[@markricheard1870]

You know, us being Granted our ‘Death Sword’ and us Dying doesn’t necessarily have to mean us losing all our items. In lore our Inventory, guns and armor are stored within our Ship, and obviously our Vault is at the ‘Tower’ (AKA the piece of the Wall we squat on) so if our character died, in-universe we could totally take on another Guardian. Hell in-universe they could be our partner, our mentor or a close friend, you could pick. And everyone is like “They…they would want you to have them” the tools of dead guardians have been handed down to us, so we know it happens!

[@firstnamelastname4752]

If I'm being realistic, I doubt Bungie would let us bring our old god rolls into a new game. If we already have the best stuff, why bother trying to get loot? It's a perfect opportunity for us to start from scratch and rediscover what it was like to be an actual New Light.

[@reggielacey2235]

No.

[@markricheard1870]

@@firstnamelastname4752 but i don’t want that.

[@omgitsnathan5204]

@@markricheard1870but that’s how it will happen. Enjoy d2 and your awesome armoury of gear while it’s here, but when we get D3 it’ll be a fresh start again

[@Pendragondnd]

The man reaching for the books makes me think of Zavala. Reaching out for the people that he's lost, and just reaching out for comfort from the Traveler, and as much as the Traveler might want to reach back and comfort him, it can't.

[@skyturret88]

Keep up the good work Byf! You keep my days interesting.

[@formerlyknownasmousecopp4367]

One thing I really am liking more and more is how, in TFS, they are developing both the witness and the traveler as characters rather than infallible forces. I expected this with the witness but not with the traveler, but I really like this approach

[@noonenormal]

The books initially I though was Uldren bringing back Cayde, but after the passage about the cage possibly being Ghaul, I think it's about the guardian bringing back Saint-14. And yes, we did do that after Ghaul, but saint died long before Ghaul, and we went back in time to save him, so from the traveler's perspective his death and resurrection were before the cage. His name being the title of the book and his story being inside, was taken back. The rest of the books are everyone the witness or their forces have killed.

[@RuiNDieM1988]

Oooooo I hadn't thought of this

[@Bruh.151]

i read the lore tab as soon as i got it and actually was so ecstatic when i realized it was literally a story from the travelers perspective

[@vlvtmnky1142]

me too i went nuts

[@robbay8610]

Canonical guardian death: Sword swipe a screeb

[@SpiritOfDestiny]

19:40 i would actually argue is of the travellers perspective of savathuns rise from that metaphorical pit, she reached out to the traveler on her deathbed. The entirety of the hive had gone down that path into the pit and she was the only one to come back out reeking of decay and to reach for the traveler. Only to be met with silence.

[@jackmack4181]

19:16 I think this is a reference to Crota and Eris morn. She returned from darkness of the moon and still believed in the light

[@JDogA-uh6mn]

This was my immediate thought as well

[@wumbology72]

definitely Eris. Sometimes the most obvious answer is the correct one.

[@cheyennecruz5664]

I think its Savathun instead. Given how the proto hive were chosen before being corrupted

[@bass-t5998]

I was thinking of Crota too. We went really, REALLY far down where no light could reach. And from the beginning of the Raid we were building bridges, ones that one alone cannot build, like the traveler couldn't "bridge the gap" alone.

[@janitorfromheck6963]

i thought it was to do with reaching out to the darkness on europa and using stasis

[@timelorddialga815]

I think the passage about the stargazing is absolutely mentioning the Krill, one of the big things we learn about in witch queen was that the traveler was thought of as the 53rd moon of fundament, so I think the stargazing and pleading may be Aurash or Sathona pleading for the god wave to never come, I think as a whole the loretab mentions species that we know about that interact with the traveler in order of when they happened. I also think the use of "would" here is very integral to my point. With the krill not knowing about the traveler, the line of them being willing to give themselves up for it, and to abandon their own dreams for it, explains why the traveler never communed with them. It thought the krill was better off as their own species unburdened by the light, and not as guardians. The traveler loved them too much to make them fight for it, which also gives more motivation to the traveler giving savathun the lucent brood. Its like a parent reuniting with their child after years of not seeing them. First being the "awakening" of the traveler from under the sands of the precursors world, then being the moon of fundament, to trying to signal the eliksni as the witness draws near, and then sacrificing itself in the colapse. I also think thusly the passage afterwards continues in the timeline as the traveler during the collapse, unable to help or do anything but hold more and more of the dead. The passage after is of course ghaul I dont think many will argue with it, but I think the passage after has two main interpretations, and one just doesnt seem too impactful, i saw someone mention in the comments eris morn and her fireteam, which in my mind doesnt make sense as this is after ghaul's prison of light. In my mind this is much more clearly savathun, mirroring the krill siblings going under the vast oceans of their world, perhaps through a chasm, to find the worm gods. The language even mirrors Savathun's slow climb up to the traveler after the end of season of the lost. She stumbles up the path and reaches to the traveler not only literally but also with the mantra of the light. The last paragraph is of course the events of the final shape, with the witness carving its way through the traveler, and our guardian fighting to protect it. which then ends in the sword itself being made, a parallel to the witness being the winnowers sword at the beginning of things, we are the travelers at the end.

[@thecosmicscarecrow3264]

Byf, The Speaker knowledge

[@Matt-wd3ny]

19:24 pretty sure this is referring to eris morn, and that while she lost her ghost and embraced the darkness powers of the hive, came back to help the guardians and the light. coming back on the path isn't a literal reference to re-embracing light, but assisting in the "light" side of the conflict. the references to the hellmouth as the chasm, and the decay as eris is pseudo-undead also point towards this

[@voidvoidvoid7274]

Hey Byf, hey Guardians :)

[@JacobExCraze]

Hey! :)

[@PotaraPenguin]

Hello Guardian

[@rellikchris]

Byf is always great to listen. Unfortunately, i cannot play too much due to my laptop breaking down, but his videos are always a great distraction. Keep the content coming, much love 👌

[@theredgamer211]

Greetings Byf, my name is Guardian here

[@bradenbest6767]

I think the part where the hand is taking the book refers to Crow, wishing Cayde-6 back to life

[@TheNerdman01]

I'm thinking the whole abyss part is 100% Eris returning from the First Crota Fireteam. One wanderer crawling out of that pit, covered in the decay of Hive detritus.

[@lukeandersen867]

Or it could be talking about Savathun. I think a lot of these passages are more allegorical or metaphorical then literal.

[@91kevinski]

I had the same thought about Eris crawling back out of the Hell Mouth.

[@Lady_Amelia-Eloise]

That was what I was thinking, it’s very similar

[@adarkwind4712]

Was this up for debate?

[@midnighthydro7434]

​@lukeandersen867 eh not all of them though, this paragraph literally says the Abyss, the first encounter of Crotas End is called Abyss. Also the paragraph seems to imply that multiple people went down

[@CyberTheElder]

When reading the section about books and a man reaching out for one, my mind immediately went to Zavala, who begged his ghost to resurrect his dead son.

[@mothboi181]

Damn the traveler is a fan of I have no mouth and I must scream

[@spexification]

i KNEW i recognized that hilt with the ghost from somewhere. that alone is gonna make me sleep soundly at night, without trying to remember where i’ve seen that sword before

[@knightofavalon86]

Worth pointing out "I AM" is how the Adonai introduced Himself to Moses from the Burning Bush. Bit of a double reference?

[@roxlyde8163]

I think the one who returned from the abyss is Savathun; further pointed to in one of the alone in the dark missions where a lore tidbit has Mithrax mention that the traveler feels love for her

[@Atticuss187]

If the witness is just the first knife of the winnower, does that lead to the proposal that the traveler is the first tool of the gardener? Maybe?

[@TH_Sofa]

The gardener’s watering cans

[@Xerxes8282]

I think the right line of thinking, but the wrong parallel. The Witness is the First Knife of the Winnower while the Guardian is the Final Argument of the Traveler.

[@d3w1h7]

Was literally reading the description for the weapon and thought about byf, love to see this video was posted 3 hours ago

[@Skel_cat63]

18:48 That is certainly The Hive being blessed by the light. It just describes it all too perfect to be much else.

[@Gastlykid]

Not gonna lie. When I saw the blank text space initially for the Ergo Sum. I just immediately thought. "Brilliant"

[@Myahster]

I'm glad this was inspired by the craftening. I love this sword.

[@dan-qw2rn]

the passage about reeking of decay and one person turning back reminds me of the hive and how savathun came back reaching for the light

[@fadinphoenix]

The passage about them reaching back to the traveler reminds me of Savathun.

[@Fier07112]

I think inside the Traveler was the space before time that the gardener and the winnower were. Reason being is bc it’s too many instances of its light reaching vast distances. From when it broke free from Ghaul, to when it literally restored earth from the Witness final shape. Then it shows that that power can manipulated if you can enter it. To be used in any way fit by way of what the Witness was attempting (if powerful enough). I think the traveler was basically lifeless until the Winnower drew the 1st knife. Then the Traveler was given life in response (or vice versa).

[@webs6251]

For the paragraph at 16:01 , I think this might be in reference to the first time Oryx was given the power to take. If all things are connected in the light, maybe the Taken are the souls that are forcefully severed from the light using the darkness.

[@Rhulksgloriouslegs]

hey byf the part at 1915 is most def talking about the hive and how savathun came back to it for the light

[@cald1421]

The wanderer returning is almost certainly Savathun. Or the Crow. The tabs are going in order of the Destiny expansions/LLCs

[@LifelessTooth]

I think the line that goes something like "You are surprised to find one emerge from the chasm still reeking of decay, reaching out to you" is about us, the first Guardian to embrace the darkness and not be corrupted by it. Especially considering the thematic tone of merging light and dark together for transcendence - We emerged from the abyss and continued embracing the light. Speaking of which, have you noticed that not a single NPC has mentioned Prismatic as a subclass? Transcendence is what all the in-universe discussion has been about, since that's specifically combining light and dark into a single ability with the special grenades, but everything else about Prismatic has been stuff that Guardians have always been able to do canonically.

[@RedMay]

Bungie should make Byf the new cannon speaker

[@Chr5_yt]

I believe “The Books” section is more in relation to the universe. In the past we learned that the traveler contains memories of the universe. I believe the word used was “Akhasic” and it was when looking at the lore tab for the ship earned at the end of the Season of the Deep. To reinforce that, what happened to Joxer when he attempted to pass through the portal exemplifies that all of our past lives and memories are there and what we saw when in the pale heart was nothing but creations of memory. My interpretation is that the universe continues on no matter what may happen. Events continue to happen and the traveler must retain these as memories, therefore their hands are ever full as the universe will not wait for them (The Traveler) I still wholeheartedly believe we were the first astronaut to reach the traveler per the dream it gave us in the campaign as well. So I believe we were the one to reach out.

[@bakedstingray7510]

I definitely think that the decay part is talking about savathun, especially since it would fit chronologically with the rest of the paragraphs and events. Her still reeking of decay could be a reference to her close ties to the witness, and how recently she had shown her true colors.

[@svsoke]

Hey byf, awesome deep dive as always. Love it! Just a small note, I think the better translation for 'Ergo sum silent, silent, silent' would be 'thus I am silent, silent, silent'. I feel like that is stating less of an observant stance and more of a trust in its implements. Also, fav sword roll? I laughed maniacally hard with the colony one

[@davidgalindez4856]

I think the passage about the one returning from the abyss and reaching back still reeking of decay is about Savathun, who already had made a bargain with the worms and therefore was within the grasp of the witness, but then she got rid of her worm and reached back and ghe Traveler even gave her the light in response.

[@roysourboy358]

For the entry about books, I’d agree that each book is someone killed by the Witness, or rather the memory of that person. Someone reaching out for one of the books could be a person begging the traveler to bring a particular person back to life - such as Zavala for Hakim. The traveler wants to grant his wish, but it has no more life to give (ghosts to make), “your hands are full”.

[@hunterarcher2721]

Think so too

[@DawnBerry66]

I love how this is written in 2nd person. Using phrases with the word "you" makes you feel like the Traveler and are experiencing its life through its perspective, like when it says "you want so very badly to reach back" or "the cage is so small that you can barely breathe." 2nd person isn't used often, but it's very imersive and makes pieces of liturature stand out.

[@Rathbaume]

I just think it's funny that all of this can be summed up as "sorry I cannot help you, my hands are full, I am holding so many books and people keep handing me more books every second that passes."

[@baltazar514]

I absolutely love the whole premise of Ergo Sum and I really appreciate your interpretation of the lore. Ergo Sum is one of my favorite weapons and fulfils the fantasy of us using a sword to cut down our enemies

[@dougcarey2233]

5:10 Yes! That's is exactly the comment that I made on a previous video.

[@jeremypresley9031]

Hello Byf. The passage about 19 minutes in about someone coming back out of the depths… sounds a lot like Eris Moon coming out of the Hellmouth to me when you first went over it.

[@JMsolidsnake]

I think when the traveler mentions one reaking of decay reaching back to him, its talking about the hive and specifically Salverthun

[@alejandroolazabal7995]

Boy ads can be amazing in their timing “With that in mind, this is the lore of the ergo sum, and it reads as follows-IM A BEE, AND I BUZZ INTO YOUR CAR”

[@ranger-1786]

19:32 that paragrph is talking about the hive how savathun and her siblings when down into the chams of fundement. They made a pact with hiveworms that slowly ate at them from the inside which explanes the "Until It consumes them entirly". The line talking about the traveler being surperise to see one come back "reeking of decay" is talking about Savathun coming to the travaler reaching out in her dieing breaths and eventually being chosen. I hope this helps Byf!!!!!!!

[@ranger-1786]

Shiiiiiiittt Someone already explained it before me

[@ranger-1786]

dang 21:01 you explained it yourself

[@xerokitsune]

About the books the Traveler/Gardener is holding. What if the books, a constraint, are part of the great game? They may an ever increasing list of possibilities that come with the complexity that the Gardener insisted upon. When a new civilization is touched by the Traveler, they may be taking/imparted some of these possibilities leading to amazing leaps forward from the new ideas. I'm not certain that the Winnower is just darkness and decay, in the initial story of the game the Winnower was directly apposed to suffering and decay wanting to keep to what it saw as the ideal pattern of growth. This said often the darkness seems intertwined with possibility and thought. In the latest expansion, the path to reach the traveler's heart had the guardians projecting with darkness and manifesting the projection with light. So what if the books are from the Winnower/darkness, the vast new rules that have to be generated to go side by side with the complexity of the new game? New steps and changes for every species and all of their possibilities.

[@Kcrow_5]

I think the burden of books is a metaphor for each individual's life story across the universe being ended. So every death is another life story added to the Library of the universe.

[@TimeTravel-0]

16:00 I think the tower of books might be a reference to the idea of the Akashic Records, a metaphysical concept that suggests that every action, event, and person in the universe is recorded somewhere outside of our baseline reality. "It's hands add to the pile" implies that the Traveler is forced to record all those that came before and fell to the Witness's efforts. The man reaching out could be The Speaker, The Guardian, or even us, the players, reaching for the actual in-game lore books in our menus. Certain things in the lore are written from an omniscient perspective, and that's why I think the last possibility is the most likely: while the Traveler is immensely powerful, it can't do anything to stop The Player from interacting with the lore books.

[@Chamoi17]

19:05 I think this is a lesson that is applicable to many of the travelers chosen as it fits savathun and the hive well but also Eris and her fireteam almost perfectly as well

[@jrdotmitch]

I agree, the reaching out in decay excerpt makes me think of the moments just before Savathun's death. Or maybe this refers to when she reached out and intervened during the season of Arrivals? As someone who followed the sword logic (creating a path of death and rebirth) and the witness for countless centuries only to change her path later it could be a possibility.

[@elegy8187]

8:20 You ruled out the Precursors being the subject of this paragraph, but I think that they must be. Firstly, I think the paragraphs are in chronological order, and the next paragraph mentions the Witness for the first time. Additionally, my interpretation of these lines is as follows: "When the stargazers call out, you do not answer." The Traveller never spoke to the Precursors even though they desperately wanted it to give them a purpose. "They would give themselves up for you; abandon their own dreams to chase you." I think this points to how the Precursors destroyed their civilisation to form the Witness. They literally gave up their individuality so that they could chase the Traveller. You say that the Precursors never had a purpose so they couldn't have abandoned their dreams, but I think this more points to how the Precursors abandoned their potential to form their own purpose, whereas humanity and the Guardians are able to make our own fate and find our own purpose.

[@626erb]

The paragraph about books immediately made me think of Rasputin. The paragraph about the chasm and someone reaching up, reeking of decay made me think of Savathun.

[@Dream146]

"Guardian's make their own fate" there's zero guarantee we end up in that grave, we saw a possible maybe even likely future but we aren't beholden to it.

[@jwallace410]

Quickly, the paragraph about the books. The books are lists of the dead (memory carved in quarts) and makes me think of Zavala desperately reaching back for the Traveler/his ghost targe to resurrect his son. The wanderer coming back up the path, that's Savathun, still reaking of decay. If this is all chronological, as it seems, then savathun getting the light happened after Ghaul and the "cage" paragraph, and Zavala son happened before Ghaul. Further back, the Traveler leaving systems, and the first line talks about being awaken by the Precursor people (covered in sand) Still watching currently so if anything jumps out I'll comment under mine. Thanks again Byf for all the videos. Basically a routine to watch tons of older videos as my evening begins to wind down.

[@Kazukii_K]

the reek of death and reaching out to me seems directly referring the mission in vanilla d where we get our light back at the shard